Bounty Park Food Forest

We envision the creation of Bounty Park, America’s first high production commercial scale

permaculture food forest. The primary purpose of the 10-acre working forest campus is

to sustainably grow and distribute fresh organic produce, particularly to underserved

populations, throughout Yamhill County, Oregon. Additionally, this campus will provide

and showcase: traditional Indigenous food way practices, food preparation and

preservation; sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices; and soil and water

conservation best practices targeted at climate change mitigation.

Named for its intended abundance, Bounty Park sits within walking distance of Yamhill

County’s largest town of 34,000, McMinnville, Oregon. The ten-acre campus located on

the ancestral home of the Calapooya Nation, is situated on an upland plain consisting of

fertile alluvial soils with direct access to the South Yamhill River. The property is in

private ownership and will be put in a long-term land lease should funding become

available to realize the forest plan.

The Food Forest concept is not novel and is in wide practice primarily in Great Britain.

By definition, a food forest is a diverse, resilient, and sustainable method of growing

food that mimics the natural ecosystem of a forest. It is a multi-layered, self-sustaining

garden permaculture system designed to produce food. It incorporates various plant

types, including trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals, all arranged to benefit each

other and thrive without excessive human intervention.

Permaculture designer(s) will conceive a sustainable ecosystem which incorporates a

variety of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vegetables, and herbs. Additionally,

measures such as the use of rainwater harvesting systems will contribute to the

conservation aspects. Greenhouses and plant nursery production will provide

subsequent forests and are incorporated in the plan. Bounty Park takes the food forest

concept in two specific directions: Food Sovereignty and Climate Resiliency.

Roughly 11,000 Yamhill County (YC) residents experience food insecurity because they

live in a food desert. And some 13% of people living in YC receive SNAP benefits. 12%

of the county live in poverty, or over 12,900 individuals. When breaking down poverty by

age, over 21% of children under the age of 5 residing in YC are living in poverty, and

when looking at residents under age 18, almost 17% of these children are living in

poverty. When children grow up in poverty, they often experience poorer health

outcomes, and food insecurity only exacerbates these issues. Bounty Park addresses

these disparities by providing measurable locally grown organic food commodities that

will be funneled through existing food distribution organizations.

Two partner organizations for this proposal, Yamhill County Public Health (YCPH) and

Yamhill Community Action Partnership (YCAP), have detailed information on the

county’s food needs. They have several reports with relevant data: the Community

Health Assessment (2022), the Community Health Improvement Plan (2023), and the

Health Equity Narrative (2023).

There are many factors that impact healthy food access in YC. While food banks are

helpful, they often do not have enough protein and fresh foods to combat food insecurity

for entire neighborhoods. Given the recent reduction in food donations, there are

pressing concerns of quantity – leaving even less capacity to focus on quality food. The

Bounty Park grant award will be shared with partner organizations away from the forest

that will be responsible for storing and distributing harvested food locally. Assets such

as walk-in coolers, food prep and preservation kitchens, and food distribution access

points throughout the county will be incorporated into operations.

Because food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic (GHG)

emissions, Bounty Park places a strong emphasis on growing food with a net negative

GHG footprint. We have partnered with leading world soil scientist Dr. Elaine Ingham of

the Soil Food Web to plan and maintain the Food Forest using principles that facilitate

maximum positive soil microbial results. Balancing the fungal and bacterial ratio

whereupon natural nitrogen is produced by the forest itself resulting not only in superior

harvests but also sequestering measurable carbon in the soil.

Bounty Park is the result of many years of thoughtful planning and practice

spearheaded by Edible Landscapes of Yamhill County (ELoYC). Started as a small

organization teaching local citizens to grow and harvest their own food, ELoYC has

grown to become a vital stakeholder in the community providing gardening situations

and food production in the school systems, Head Start, Habitat for Humanity, and in

many public city spaces otherwise left barren of purpose. ELoYC has amassed an

impressive coalition of learned horticulturalists, Food Foresters, nutritionists, NGOs

providing food access for houseless and low-income populations, soil health experts,

and indigenous practitioners of holistic land management.