Cookeville Food Forest Breaks Ground

Ground officially broken on the Cookeville Food Forest and Foraging Path at Cane Creek Park.

Director Sid Bundy said the group is currently planting various trees and bushes that will produce free and nutritious food for the community. Bundy said she is glad to see the project come to fruition.

“It feels good to have trees in the ground,” Bundy said. “We have been talking about the food forest now for about six months as a concept and to have actually something growing and to be able to show people you know this is what it looks like, that feels amazing.”

Bundy said it took several meetings with the City of Cookeville to get everyone on the same page in order to finally break ground. Bundy said she expects the food forest to be fully completed three and a half years from now.

Bundy said the project will be completed in phases to make sure they are in line with what the city desires.

“It helps us get our feet wet to make sure we know how to manage a small number of trees,” Bundy said. “That we know how to work with the grant agency for that small number of trees and it will expand us as we are given access to the land.”

Bundy said the group still has more planning to do for the rest of the phases of the food forest.

“We are also building a 501-3C to support the rest of the phases and we are picking the overall designer so that is really just phase one,” Bundy said. “We have about until February to get that phase done.”

Bundy said the forest will eventually expand to the property known as Cowen Farms. Bundy said the Cowen family sold their property to Cane Creek Park for the food forest. Bundy said although the food forest will take some time to complete the group plans to release a harvest schedule for when people can pick from the food forest.