Mario Dagonel works with trees in his job as a community engagement manager at the nonprofit TreePeople. He says many of our personal connections to trees start with a fruit tree.

For him, it was the lemon tree in his grandmother’s garden that provided the juice for lemonade on warm summer days. The harvest was so plentiful that his family always shared the fruit with their neighbors.

This connection is even more important in Los Angeles’ food deserts, densely populated areas where residents don’t have immediate access to a grocery store that offers healthy foods like fruits and vegetables at affordable prices.

Focus on food deserts

Last year, TreePeople distributed nearly 3,000 fruit trees to people living in food deserts and suffering from food insecurity – or people who do not have access to enough healthy food regardless of where they live.

“One million residents in Los Angeles County experienced food insecurity last year, and most of them do not receive WIC or CalFresh benefits. So this is a huge problem,” Dagonel said.

In many of the communities TreePeople serves, there are more liquor or corner stores than grocery stores, which can be 4 to 5 miles away. TreePeople distributes both fruit and shade trees to communities such as Watts, Commerce, El Monte, Paramount, Inglewood, Lynwood and San Fernando.

Dagonel said that while distributing the trees is not a complete solution, it helps reduce food costs and creates opportunities for personal contact.

“I’ve heard so many beautiful stories about residents who planted an avocado tree and several years later the tree produces so many avocados that they can distribute some of those avocados to their neighbors because they can’t eat them all,” Dagonel said.

There are many different ways to green urban areas, but according to Dagonel, trees on the avenues are not enough.

“In our community forestry, the trees on Park Street are shade trees,” he said. “These are planted on the grass verge in front of a house. The fruit trees can be planted anywhere by residents, in the front yard, in the back yard, wherever they want.”

The variety of fruit trees distributed varies but includes avocado, cherry, peach and pomegranate trees, among others.

“We have good relationships with many local nurseries,” said Dagonel. “We want to make sure we select trees that are appropriate for the microclimate and soil type of each community.”

TreePeople organizes its tree distributions in partnership with cities or community organizations and provides participating residents with a sheet with care instructions in English and Spanish.

Participants in TreePeoples tree distributions

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Courtesy of Mario Dagonel

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TreePeople

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According to Dagonel, eligibility to receive a fruit tree through TreePeople’s grants depends on whether you live in a certain region or zip code area. The fruit trees are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We distributed fruit trees at St. Lawrence Church in Watts and gave trees to people between Masses,” Dagonel said, adding that eligible recipients could receive more than one tree.

Planting is only the first step

Dagonel said TreePeople is on track to distribute about 4,000 or 5,000 fruit trees by the end of 2024. The vast majority of distributions will take place between September and mid-June.

“Right now we are in what we call tree care summer,” Dagonel said.

The first few years of a tree’s life are the most important, and TreePeople must put in a lot of effort to water and care for the seedlings. The shade trees along the park roads in Watts and Paramount, for example, require 15 gallons of water per week.

Volunteers wanted

TreePeople doesn’t want to just plant trees and then take them away, says Dagonel, but rather build strong bonds with communities. During distribution, they collect contact information and have residents sign an adoption pledge form, affirming their commitment to care for something that will stay with them for decades to come.

Check out TreePeople’s Volunteer calendar to participate in Tree Care Summer and help bring green to neighborhoods that have long needed it.