The biggest problem with so-called edible landscapes — fruit trees planted on city medians and gardens along sidewalks — is not the maintenance or finding land or volunteers, said city planner and landscape architect Darrin Nordahl.

Instead, the difficulty is simply encouraging people to stroll over, grab a peach or pepper and start munching.

“We’re not used to seeing free food, right before our eyes,” said Nordahl, an author and public planning expert who spoke to a Kamloops Food Policy conference Thursday.

Nordahl is on the vanguard of a movement in North American cities to go beyond the concept of community gardens and into public produce — fruits and vegetables grown on medians, plazas, at government buildings or any public space, with produce free for the taking.

He presented examples of public produce from around the continent, including rooftop gardens in Chicago, orange bushes on sidewalks in Florida and elaborate fruit tree and vegetable gardens planted at historical government building sites, including in San Francisco.

Any gardener knows planting produce is more than tossing a few seeds on the ground and throwing on water occasionally. It requires labour. But Nordahl said growing food, as opposed to ornamental plants, taps into a basic human need and volunteers come out in large numbers.

At Provo, a municipality in Utah where government cutbacks put an end to flower planting at municipal offices, bureaucrats started planting produce in the brick planters. This year they expect to harvest 400 kilograms of produce.

“When you go to pay a parking fine, maybe we can offer you an eggplant or a potato,” Nordahl said.

The idea is to make nutritious food affordable by using local resources.

With today’s “industrial” agriculture, Nordahl said the cost of fruits and vegetables has climbed beyond the means of many and is being replaced with high-calorie processed foods. That equates to a double cheeseburger and a single peach from a farmers market both being worth $1 each.

“If you’re hungry and you only have $1, what do you buy? Most people in North America buy the cheeseburger.”

That’s translated into an explosion of obesity. Twenty years ago not a single U.S. state’s population had an obesity rate higher than 14 per cent. Today, Colorado is the lowest, at 15 per cent.

Some southern states have rates of more than 30 per cent.

The rate in B.C. is 19 per cent, one of the best in Canada.

For public produce, Nordahl recommended shrub-type plants and leafy vegetables for esthetics. He cautioned against soft fruits, such as tomatoes because of the mess they may cause.

Successful plantings also include using varieties that complement each other, such as those that fix nitrogen from the air beside those that require it as a nutrient.

Nordahl also showcased edible schoolyards — gardens at public schools that are integrated into the curriculum.