TULSA, Okla. — Something special is growing in north Tulsa's Hawthorne neighborhood.
North Tulsa-based nonprofit Crossover Community Impact is planting 200 fruit trees to beautify its neighborhood and combat food insecurity. Agrihood Coordinator Josiah Roche said the project is made possible through a grant they received from the Oklahoma Forestry Services.
WATCH: Crossover Community Impact planting fruit trees to combat food insecurity
"While we would really appreciate grocery stores, and that's the larger goal, this is a small but meaningful step for neighbors to make to plant fruit trees right in their own yards," said Roche.
Roche said he and his student workers knocked on about 450 doors in the Hawthorne neighborhood to find participants. They got 70 yes's to get to work and plant.
They're starting Tulsa first neighborhood fruit tree orchard. Neighbors can choose from cherry, apple, plum, pear or paw-paw trees.
The $45K grant Crossover Community Impact received funded the 200 trees, another 150 trees in the fall and enough to pay the student workers helping plant.
“This is actually an answer to prayer," said neighbor Tina Armstrong. "I pray about this stuff, and so I’m just so grateful for everyone who comes together in community to make this happen.”
Armstrong said she's lived in the Hawthorne neighborhood her whole life — and most of her family still does, too.
“There is a large need in north Tulsa," she said. “I was visiting over at my parents house when they came by and they asked, so I immediately made the call to my siblings and said how many trees? We wanted to get a variety so everybody can have a different kind of tree."
WATCH: More grocery options heading to north Tulsa
By year's end, 350 fruit trees will be blooming in the neighborhood.
The trees, Armstrong said, are an investment in the future generations of her community.
“We will see the great impact for years to come," she said. "It’s going to be amazing. Our little ones that are growing up, we get to teach them the importance of healthiness, and fruits and vegetables.”
For Roche, and CCI, that accessibility is exactly why the project means so much.
He said they hope to be able to apply for the grant again next year to keep the growth going in north Tulsa.
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