Farming is often considered as exclusive for rural areas. But that is changing with community gardens spreading around urban cities. Because rural areas have enough space. Nevertheless, we can observe a growing presence of community gardens around major urban and suburban areas cities around the country. Fuel by the need to have a healthier diet at an affordable price. They squeeze and optimize any available space to build green meeting points where residents can grow fresh vegetables and fruits. Consequently, facilitating and promoting urban farming as an evolving movement to encourage social awareness around issues like healthy lifestyle and community involvement.
Takeaways:
Community gardens give access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. When you join a community garden you have a piece of a shared plot where you can grow your own season vegetables and fruits.
Advantages of community gardens:
- Create a space where people can meet and co-grow food.
- Give you access to fresh and healthy vegetables.
- It can lower your food bill for you and others.
- Educational opportunities: It is a good way for kids and adults to learn about where food comes from.
- Bring people together for a common cause
The math:
Break down your grocery budget and estimate how much goes into fresh produce such as tomatoes, carrots, basil, onions, green pepper, etc…
- Cost:
- Most community gardens are free but you have to pay a small maintenance fee very negligible. However admission is random and at a base of first come first serve.
- Educational materials on how to grow fresh vegetable: free YouTube videos
- Seeds: $40
- Revenue: a conservative approach
- By leveraging a community garden and optimizing the space you can reduce your fresh produce budget by up to 10%
- Excess harvest could be sold or distributed to your neighbors, friends, or family at a small cost. Thus fighting against the impact of food deserts in communities.
Savings: You can except in the worst-case scenario to break-even or reduce your budget by at least 10%
How does it work?
Typically, a space in your neighborhood is made available by the city for gardening. Once, the community garden is ready to be used, they are split into individual plots that each person or family is responsible for. Many gardens use only organic practices. In general, each community garden set its own rules.
The product of the community garden normally goes to the plot owner. However, each participant might be required to voluntarily drop a certain amount at a local soup bank.
Generally, there is a fee in order to participate in community gardening. These fees are often waived for families who cannot afford it, in exchange for extra work and maintenance of the garden.
Find a community near you
This useful link will greatly help you find any community gardens near you. In addition, the website from the American Community Gardening Association will prove to be very resourceful:
