Fruit Loop Acres

Meet Kay Grimm and Sue Spicer of Fruit Loop Acres in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Fruit Loop Acres is a 3/4 acre permaculture fruit farm in the heart of the city. Like many post-industrial midwestern cities, much of this urban center is fledgling, depressed, boarded up and faced with significant challenges to accessing good fresh food.

Amidst blocks of abandoned lots and boarded up homes, we were so lucky to visit with this truly queer farm which was a shining green beacon of hope and good food and an example of something really different and beautiful in an unlikely location.

The amazing fruits and nuts (which include many Indiana natives) grown at Fruit Loop Acres is available to people in several ways- they have a u-pick by appointment service, they sell produce to local restaurants, and they also have a delivery service called Basic Roots Community Foods which has been around for 5 years and in collaboration with other sustainable farms delivers fresh produce to customers in Indianapolis.

Kay and Sue told us that the name for Fruit Loop Acres comes from several double entendres- fruit because they are a fruit farm growing many delicious heirloom varieties of cane fruit and stone fruit, the word fruit as synonym for queer, loop because the farm is located near the loop of interstate highways running through the city and because in line with permaculture principles and practice the farm is a closed loop system always recycling and reusing what they have on hand rather than brining in outside inputs.

compost

The gayest looking bee hive I've ever seen!

In addition to tending a permaculture food forest in her backyard, Kay (also proudly known as Krazy Kay, which she told us is a name people have given her and she is OK with being called as long as the "krazy" is with a K...) is an installation artist of sorts. Using recycled and scavenged materials Kay uses her farm as a space for her installations, here are some photos from around the farm:

Fruit Loop Acres' beautiful back fence made from recycled doors. Check out the babe in the window...

look closely...

When we asked Kay and Sue what their definition of a farmer was, they gave one of the best answers we have heard so far, "Someone who grows something bigger than themself." What a perfect way to sum it up.

Our southern and midwest trip has come to a close. Thanks for following our tour. We are almost done with production and have just a few California interviews to do this Fall. We are going to start editing soon and are applying for Frameline's completion fund. Stay tuned...