Last month, Victory Garden Initiative (VGI) announced the winners of its Fruity Nutty 5 contest, which awards community orchards that will be planted in April. The winning groups will receive a variety of fruit and nut trees such as hazelnuts, cherries, peaches, pears, apples and plums.

"All communities in Milwaukee County were encouraged to apply to cultivate beautiful local food sources and pockets of edible abundance in the city we call home,” says VGI’s Kelly Moore Brands.

VGI’s Fruity Nutty 5 Committee chose five applicants to steward the growth of fruit- and nut-producing plants in their neighborhoods for generations to come: Centro Hispano; Hales Corners Environmental Committee; Urban Eden Community Garden; St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care-Bucyrus Campus; and a partnership between Milwaukee Jewish Day School and Westside Academy. Gordon Place and Five Points Neighborhood Association were runner-ups and will receive a smaller “Seedling” award. In total, 150 plants will get growing this spring to feed their communities.

For more information, call 414-431-0888 or visit VictoryGardenInitiative.org/FruityNutty.