Cultivating change — Picnic’s Food Forest

9 years ago, Picnic embarked on the journey to create a less resource-intensive grocery delivery model, cutting out physical stores, helping to take cars off the road when people go shopping, and providing an electric last mile grocery delivery service. However, the focus on sustainability didn’t stop at our core business model, but continued to be a major influence on how we celebrate growth and success. This mindset has influenced a variety of our internal and external projects.

One of our most memorable initiatives is the Picnic Forest, which we launched to commemorate Picnic’s 5th anniversary. And what better way to celebrate than with a gift that continues to benefit not only us as a company but also everyone who wishes to join our mission.

How the idea of the Picnic Food forest was born

For those unfamiliar with the concept, a Food Forest is a form of agroforestry that mimics natural ecosystems. Structurally, a Food Forest is a polyculture with many layers — from towering canopies to ground-covering vines. The Picnic Food Forest, primarily consists of edible trees and plants, complemented by supporting flora to create a self-sustaining environment. The forest operates on the principle of minimal human intervention and requires only occasional harvesting. We can sometimes forget that nature can be remarkably efficient in thriving when allowed to follow its natural course.

Sowing the first seed

The Food Forest was born out of true collaborative spirit. We partnered with Rotterdam De Boer Op!, who helped us find a location, and we reached out to the municipality of Rotterdam, Natuurmonumenten, Cooperatie Ondergrond and Wouter van Eck (Food Forest farmer) for their guidance on creating a professional design.

The goal was multifaceted: in the beginning, we aimed to enhance biodiversity and educate the neighbouring community. At a later stage, we wanted to harvest our own produce that we could eventually sell through Picnic’s app for a truly local experience.

After careful planning, we started planting in February 2022, and planted more than 1500 trees in just one year! Everyone got involved — Picnic employees, the local community, and project partners, all got their hands dirty to make this a success.

Design harmony

Together, we have planted a variety of trees, bushes and perennial vegetables across 2 hectares of land. To create the best environment for each plant and tree to flourish, we split the Food Forest in two separate areas.

The northern part of the forest was designed to be a romantic playful garden with a ‘picking paradise’, ‘salad bar’ and pond. The picking paradise mainly consists of fruit and nut trees, while the salad bar offers edible leaves. The southern part was organised into rows influenced by sustainable agriculture, making it easier for harvesting and picking produce.

Tangible impact

As the Food Forest flourished over the first years, we observed the impact of rewilding a piece of uninhabited land. Species and insects ranging from butterflies and worms to birds and even wild hares and the neighbouring cows came to visit and inhabit Picnic’s green oasis. :)

Very soon, we saw tangible benefits of our Food Forest on the surrounding environment. Besides our impact on biodiversity, the initiative improved soil water retention and drainage within two years, helping plants to keep their roots appropriately dry and wet during all seasons.

The Picnic forest has also sparked greater interest in sustainable agricultural practices among the local community and Picnic employees, creating a wave of enthusiasm for other organisations to engage in similar practices. Furthermore, the Food Forest allowed customers to visit and experience the timely growth of our newly planted forest.

We keep growing and learning

Through these experiences, the Picnic team has learned invaluable lessons about the resiliency and efficiency of nature, its natural cycles, and its beauty. It also prompted us to reflect on conventional food production and the benefits and possibilities of sustainable agriculture.

Picnic’s Food Forest highlights the power of community, care for the land, and innovation. It is a testament to how thoughtful initiatives can create lasting impacts, enriching both the environment and the communities involved.

While Picnic as a company will keep growing, so will our forest.

Special thanks to Marjolein van den Blink for organising and facilitating the creation of Picnic’s green legacy, the Food Forest.