Sitting on 2 acres of prairie and green space in the historic Stop Six neighborhood, The Corner Orchard is a work in progress.

Young trees stud the land and, at one corner, a few seasonal vegetables and herbs grow amid chilly temperatures. 

The acreage spawning the Trinity River’s floodplain will soon be subject to a study that’s required to meet Fort Worth’s flood ordinance standards.

The neighborhood’s history and need for redevelopment drove ex-NFL player and Urban Village founder David Howard to invest in the land in 2019 to create a local hub for farming, fresh produce and opportunities for education on the environment.

“We need to be able to do something that’s going to bring value to the community,” Howard said.

While the orchard won’t open to the public until the spring, residents already notice a difference. 

“We want that space to bring a smile to everyone’s face who comes by,” said the farm manager Whitney Azihman. 

A Fort Worth “gem”

Stop Six is a Fort Worth “gem,” Azihman said, and she wants it to be treated that way. 

Racial inequities and stigma stemming from low employment and violence has kept certain industries and businesses, including grocery stores, from moving into the area, Azihman said.

The predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a food desert due to being located more than a mile away from a supermarket, limiting access to fresh produce and quality food.

Howard and Azihman aim to chip away at that gap. They plan to use the green space to cultivate fresh, locally grown produce, in an effort to address health issues experienced by Stop Six residents. The pair envision a building just across the orchard where they would operate a grocery store.

“Access to grocery stores, access to fresh food … is culturally relevant,” Azihman said. “Both of us live here. … We personally understand that day-to-day frustration with food access.”

The neighborhood sits just east of the 76104 ZIP code, which has the lowest life expectancy in Texas, according to a study. That, in part, stems from poor dietary choices, Howard said. 

“People of color already know what to eat. It’s not so much about shaping diets. It’s about offering the food,” Azihman said. “If you didn’t have that home garden, you can come be a part of our garden.”

Azihman and Howard hope the garden will help them reach their mission: increasing Stop Six’s life expectancy by five years.

“We have this generational goal of taking that life expectancy in the right direction,” Azihman said. “I’m excited to see that change.”

The Corner Orchard vision

Not only will The Corner Orchard become a publicly accessible farm, but it will feature many other amenities. 

The entirety of the orchard will be lined with tree canopy, including hackberry, cedar and live oak trees, all Texas-native species. 

Azihman and Howard envision an irrigation system at both ends of the farm to keep produce and herbs thriving. A dry creek bed will be centrally located to control erosion and runoff. 

With help from the orchard’s local partners, the pair will build a greenhouse at one end of the orchard to cultivate food and host farmers markets.

Giving the garden more color, planters across the orchard will be lined with native wildflowers and other seasonal blooms, creating an “inner city flower farm.”

“’I’m super stoked,” Azihman said. “I’m already counting stems in my mind.”

Azihman and Howard want to draw wildlife to the orchard. That will include a beekeeping yard and birdhouses. 

Inviting wildlife will create opportunities for southeast Fort Worth youth to learn about nature, environmental sciences and agriculture, Howard said. 

Based on an open concept, The Corner Orchard team constantly considers other amenities to make the orchard accessible and convenient for the community. 

For example, the grocery store would also include space for people to wash their handpicked produce or use as a working or collaborative space.

“Having this corner orchard is a place where anyone … can come by,” Azihman said. 

It may require years before the orchard’s blueprint fully blossoms, but Azihman and Howard aim to celebrate the garden’s April debut with a public harvest event.

“We’re making sure we have as many collaborators as possible, so that this can be here for decades, and not just a project that dies,” Howard said.

Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.

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