SWEET, SWEET CONNECTION
- Yulia Strokova
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 13 minutes ago
Mangoes hang over Miami, brightening our smoothies, salsas, and cocktails. Whether you see them as simply a fragrant fruit or a cultural icon, it’s time we consider how mangoes connect us within urban landscapes.
*Your purchase makes a difference!
Every summer, mangoes — in all their juicy, golden-orange, jade-green glory — dangle from trees across South Florida. In 2024, high heat, strong winds, and irregular rainfall resulted in fewer fruits. This year, nature seems to be making amends.
After a disappointing last season, growers are reporting a promising rebound in 2025, according to Edible South Florida. A steadier dry season followed by well-timed spring rains brought more flowers, fewer fungal issues, and much-needed optimism.
Zak Stern | By Martina Potlach
Zak Stern’s approach to hospitality continues to inspire. From his iconic Wynwood bakery, Zak the Baker, the annual “Mango Trade” is back in full swing. The deal: bring six local mangoes, get a loaf of fresh-baked bread in return.
What began as a playful, community-focused experiment quickly became a beloved summer tradition. In this “new currency,” Zak the Baker weaves seasonal fruit with community to create unexpected baked goods representative of Miami’s regional cuisine — like mango cheesecake, parfaits, and refreshing mango sodas.
“Creating the Mango Trade was an opportunity to get people to see what’s valuable here, and to get people to participate in our currency around the conversation of what is our regional cuisine? We’ve got things down here in the summertime that no one else has… It’s an opportunity to celebrate and embrace.”
Zak’s sustainability efforts have also grown. After slashing bakery waste by 60% in 2023 through a composting partnership with Compost for Life, the team has doubled down. As of 2025, they’ve diverted 252,149 pounds of food scraps from the landfill.
Fostering a circular food economy, this compost is then returned to the bakery as nutrient-dense soil, contributing to Zak’s newest project, the Farmhouse. Its goal: grow as close to 100% of their own produce as possible for the cafe at the bakery.
By Martina Potlach
Every season, roughly 40% of unpicked mangoes are estimated to go to waste. Green Tomato, a business connecting South Florida residents to farm-fresh produce, tackled this problem by partnering with Nicholas Spence, the 12-year-old behind SoFla Boy Mangoes, to sell otherwise wasted mangoes — a hands-on lesson in entrepreneurship, agriculture, and food waste solutions.
Green Tomato founder Vanessa Aflalo shares:
“Nick is an entrepreneur and the son of one of our customers. Early in the season, they were interested in collaborating. Nick took the initiative to collect mangoes in his neighborhood that would otherwise be wasted; his neighbors were elated by this solution, and his community shared in the profits. We loved supporting this young entrepreneur, and our customers really enjoyed the mangoes, even in this shorter season.”
There are more than 600 varieties of mango growing throughout South Florida, making it one of the largest concentrations of mango genetic diversity in the world — grown on a relatively small scale. Since David Fairchild introduced mangoes to the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these sticky, sweet fruits have become an integral part of Miami’s subtropical urban fabric, adapting well to our wet and warm climate, much like their native habitat in Asia.
“If you don’t have a mango tree in your house, then your neighbor does,” says Rane Roatta, co-owner of Miami Fruit, a homegrown tropical fruit business and farm in Homestead.
A grower with over a decade of experience working with a network of local farmers, Rane has dealt firsthand with the uncertainties of climate change:
“The heat and the drastic difference between our winter rains and our summer rains are actually making it a lot harder to grow mangoes here,” he notes — though he remains positive and opportunistic about what each season may bring.
During harvest season, Miami Fruit sells Mango Variety Boxes that ship nationwide and change weekly, offering even those at a distance a taste of Miami’s unique flavors.
Miami Fruit was born from community demand.
“The community asked me to sell fruit at farmers’ markets. And then, the online community asked me to ship the fruit to them,” says Rane.
Connecting people with fruit — and creating unique and delicious experiences — continues to be a core part of Rane’s mission. But the vision extends further:
“One of our biggest goals is to try to keep some farmers in business in the long term — my generation and the generation after.”
By Martina Potlach
A slow season never keeps Miamians from venerating mangoes. Summer celebrations range from the annual King Mango Strut parade in Coconut Grove to weekend-long events relishing fruit biodiversity and tropical cuisine.
Miami-Dade County also supports residents through its long-running Adopt-a-Tree program. Since 2001, over 225,000 trees — including mango varieties — have been distributed to homeowners. Residents can stay updated on giveaway dates through the County’s website.
To many, coming home from a long, hot day to a fresh, dewy harvest is one of life’s simplest pleasures — and one that’s undeniably, uniquely Miamian.
After 2024’s mango drought, 2025 feels like a sweet reset. Whether you're trading mangoes for bread, composting peels into garden soil, or savoring a perfectly ripe slice after a hot summer walk, this season reminds us of what’s local, abundant, and worth celebrating.
We hope you appreciated this paywall-free article. As an independent community-driven media, Impact.Edition elevates the voices of local changemakers who work toward positive, lasting change – from addressing social inequality to saving the planet from environmental ruin. We would be grateful if you would consider a small donation to support our volunteering editorial efforts and shared mission to empower people with best practices and creative solutions for a more just, more sustainable world. Any donation to Impact.Edition will be tax-deductible. Thank you for making a difference!
Comments