Help us map the way to a fruitier future!
As we round out another fruitful year, we need your help.
Fruit trees abound in Atlanta and Athens. Anywhere a muscadine can find an inch of soil, it will gladly take root. Blackberry bushes line our roadways. Mulberries drop their dark purple berries, staining the sidewalk beneath them. Fruit is everywhere, once you know where to look!
So far, Concrete Jungle (CJ) has mapped 4,200+ fruit trees across Atlanta and Athens, and we’re only getting started. We organize volunteers to harvest this fruit, and then we distribute it to local hunger relief agencies.
These trees are an abundant and free resource, which CJ is harnessing for the good of our local community. But we need your help.
As we round out another year at Concrete Jungle, we’re asking you to read our stories below, and then make a donation so that we can get more fresh food to partners like Gabe at Jewish Family and Career Services.
In the words of Gabe, “People say the pandemic is over, but the struggle is not over. So many people are living close to poverty and are one life event away – whether it's some sort of car accident or whatever – that causes a major breadwinner to lose employment. It can put people in major trouble. And for a lot of people, the pandemic was that life event, and they just dug into a much deeper hole. And now it's gonna take time to dig out. So this need for food and food pantries is not going to go anywhere, anytime soon."
Help us map the way to a fruitier future by making a gift to CJ before the year is up. We couldn’t do this work without you!
CLICK ANY OF THESE MAP MARKER ICONS TO READ MORE!
Nichole Fields-Kyle,
Concrete Jungle
Director of Programs and Operations
Lauren Towe,
Athens Program Manager
Welcome to our community!
One of my favorite things about CJ is how easy it is for people to make the connection between the super fun activity they are doing – jumping on a tree branch and shaking pears into a tarp – and the greater impact that has on our society...And then at the end of the event, they help us weigh all the produce. And we tell them: ‘These 600 pounds of pears that you just picked are going to this agency, who is distributing food on Saturday to this neighborhood, and that translates to this many people served.’ That is such an impactful moment for someone who is just becoming aware of issues like food insecurity and food waste for the first time. So they had this really amazing educational moment, but they also had so much fun while they were doing it.
- Nichole
Concrete Jungle is truly a community effort. We know our food system is stronger together, and we're fortunate to have so many people united in this work. From our volunteers to donors to staff to farmers to community partners to neighbors and friends and everyone in between: YOU make Concrete Jungle's work possible. Click on the map icons across the site to meet more members of our community. And then please make a donation to support this critical work of getting fresh produce to food-insecure people.
Adam Hicks,
Concrete Jungle
Field Manager
Meet some CJ staff
My first time at the farm at Concrete Jungle, I absolutely loved it. It was a beautiful day. I got to meet a lot of interesting people. I ended up coming over and over and over again because it was social, I got to get my vitamin D, I got my workout in, and I got to learn how to grow things. So it was everything I wanted at once.
- Adam
Meet some of our volunteers!
I saw that Concrete Jungle was hosting this campus walk earlier this spring. We got to meet all kinds of fruit and nut trees. And it just rocked my world. It opened up my eyes to some information that I've been really yearning for and looking for -- what is growing around us. And I was just like, "oh my gosh, these are my people. This is how I’d like to spend my time." So I was hooked.”
-Tulsi
Shelley,
Atlanta Volunteer
Tulsi,
Athens Volunteer
Scott, Tree Donor
Concrete Jungle helps you stretch a meal. I’m glad – whoever came up with the idea, came up with a pretty good idea, because it serves the community. And [these days] everything is so expensive. So it’s a very good thing to have these places set up. I’m so blessed now.
-Herman
Pastor Chad, Mercy Community Church
Herman, client of Mercy Community Church
Meet some of the folks who receive our fruit
Shawanda Johnson, Winterville Neighborhood Leader
Meet folks from CJ's early days
Carl DiSalvo, Board Member
One of the things I'm extremely proud about is that when we first launched the fruit tree map, you could do things with it that no other fruit tree map provided. And I think that says something also about the organization. There is a sense in which we're willing to experiment with like, 'what does it mean to be a forager in 2022? And how can we continue to do that in a way that is adventurous?' And that is kind of broadening the ways that we can engage in care for each other.
-Carl
Craig Durkin, CJ Co-Founder
With your help, we can get even more fresh produce to families in need. Help us map the way to a fruitier future by making a donation! Every little bit makes a big difference.
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