Voedselbos Benthuizen is a food forest dedicated to transforming a meadow into a thriving ecosystem where both people and animals can enjoy nature and a bountiful harvest. The farm cultivates pure, sun-ripened produce directly from the soil, without the use of pesticides, fostering a healthy, climate-resilient environment with high biodiversity.
Visitors can participate in guided tours and “Pick & Taste” walks, offered from March to November, where they learn about and directly sample various edible plants, fruits, and berries grown on the premises. For a more immersive experience, annual or trial memberships are available. Members have the unique opportunity to visit weekly for self-picking or to join communal harvesting days and activities such as planting, maintenance, and processing the harvest into products like jam, stewed pears, and medlar mousse.
The farm emphasizes a hands-on approach, allowing members to harvest independently, guided by weekly emails detailing what is ripe, or during guided harvest sessions. Produce available for self-picking includes a wide variety of fruits, berries, nuts (such as almonds), herbs, and vegetables. Products made from the farm’s own harvest, such as jams, jellies, and nuts, are also available for purchase in their shop or as part of seasonal offerings like Christmas packages. Additionally, the farm hosts team outings, which include educational content, hands-on work, and opportunities to pick and taste the forest’s offerings.
What visitors say
Visitors consistently describe this self-picking farm as a beautiful, inspiring, and exceptional destination. Many highlight the “super experience” offered, particularly praising the tours for being fun, educational, and well-organized. The opportunity to taste and pick various plants is a significant draw, often surprising visitors with the diverse and unique flavors encountered. There is strong appreciation for the initiative as a developing food forest. It’s noted, however, that the farm is not freely accessible to the public, though becoming a “friend of the food forest” grants participation in special picking and tasting lunches.