This past Sunday our friends from Central Vineyard Church launched their community garden on E 16th Ave. It was a sight to see---as much a sight as anything that has ever been seen on that small abandoned plot of land. 

Throughout the afternoon, there were well over 100 people with shovels and dirty hands pulling weeds and working in some compost. Some people were from the church, and some were from the neighborhood. Mothers brought their kids out and people from the surrounding streets kept coming to this plot of land, looking, and just shaking their head.

Across the street, there is a women who has lived on the street in one place or another for over 30 years. I thought she was going to hug me---she said she'd keep an eye out on the place and asked if I would mind if she went and pulled some weeds from time to time.  I just laughed and told her that the garden was hers. And ours. Hers and ours together. And so are the weeds.

The day before, the lot had grass growing up to my waist. I spent some time on the plot thinking some things through when I stumbled upon Bill, who was mowing the lawn of an apartment complex just a few lots down. We got to talking. Thirty minutes later he's mowing waste-high grass, picking up rocks, trash, and making the place ready as though it were his own home. Seriously. I'm not exagerating. I told him I'd pay him to mow the grass that bordered the area we had prepared for the garden. It took him 4 hours and I paid him $60 and he filled up on some intangible goodness because when I called him yesterday to thank him and to tell him how great of a job he had done, there was a smile in his voice and when I went to meet him later that evening to give him the money, there was one on his face. I think Bill is going to like the garden.

At one point, there were 15 people with shovels digging an extra row on the side of the plot (24" wide X 60' long) to make room for our rasberry and blackberry bushes (which arrived today). As long as people know that they are working to make space for berries---digging up sod while singing songs and laughing is about the best thing you can do on a Sunday afternoon.

The church hired Ray Ray's Hog Pit (formerly Smackies) to serve up lunch to the neighborhood. Pulled-Pork sandwiches, baked beans, and slaw. Hands got dirty...and there was a little bit of bar-b-que sauce on the corner of everyone's mouth.

This Sunday we launch our first official Justice Gardens Urban Farm in partnership with Central Vineyard Church.    We've been working with Central Vineyard to plan this plot and get it ready to grow food. Justice Gardens has leased the land from the City of Columbus for $1 this year through the Land Redevelopment Office. 

On Sunday afternoon, we expect well over 100 volunteers from Central Vineyard and the surrounding neighborhood to begin the Justice Gardens Urban Farm Co-Operative (more on this later). Lunch from Ray Ray's Bar-B-Que Pit will be provided for Free for those living within a mile of the garden plot.

While we've been working really hard for the past 2 years on various projects---this first ground breaking is an important step in what we hope will be the future of urban farming. We want to partner with neighborhoods all across the country to help bring local produce to communities and streets that have none.

About a year ago, some folks in the neighborhood who are part of a gardening group at Central Vineyard wanted to partner with Justice Gardens to begin making use of their gardening skills and passion for food to help local families who might be in need of a boost in their weekly groceries. This is exactly what we want. This is exactly what we need.

I remember sharing some thoughts about a year ago with someone in the community. I shared some of my budding dreams and vision for communities all across the country to make the connection between food and justice. I tried to paint a picture of community gardening organizations, churches, synagogues--- all across the country---partnering with Justice Gardens to promote the production, sharing, and proper use of food. My friend was skeptical.

There are a lot of large projects that begin very small. We're just getting started.

Join us this Sunday (12pm-5pm) at 435 E 16th Ave. Lunch is $6. Getting your hands dirty is FREE!

I've been talking a lot recently (not here, but elsewhere) with people about what it means to be farmer. It seems that what we're doing with Urban Agriculture really isn't farming---we're just not there yet. A friend of mine recently quipped that I ought to just call myself a gardener like everyone else does who lives in the city and, well---gardens. The question then, is what does it mean to be a farmer?

I recently stumbled across a great blog post in a really GOOD magazine that talks about the difficulties around being young and having the desire to become a farmer. I think it's safe to say that we are at the very beginning of what some have called a "movement" but what others might, for good reason, resist the very word and want to call it something else. I find myself wanting both. I want what a lot of people want, which is change.

I've been encouraged by numerous people recently to do some more writing here at the Justice Gardens blog. I recognize that I can only talk to so many people each day and that what I really need is a place where people can get the big picture and some of the long-term vision without actually meeting me and hearing me talk about Justice Gardens for 10 minutes. So, let me re-start my writing here by saying that (part of) what I want is to grow young farmers and I'd like for you to help me.

One of the projects that I've been working on thinking through, along with another organization here in town, is a farm project that helps work around many of the hurdles that can make it hard for young people to see farming as viable profession and as a viable future. It's hard for wealthy people who are college-educated and are well-connected in the world of sustainable agriculture to make it as a farmer. It's nearly impossible for a guy or gal from a low-income community to even picture themselves working on farm. I'd like to help make that connection. It starts, of course, with food. That's the big picture here. "Getting good food into the hands of those who traditionally don't have access to it"----that's how I've been saying it when I have conversations with people. But what I'd really like to do, is to get people growing food---both for themselves and for others.

I don't think there is a question about whether there will be a lot of young people in the next 15-20 years who find a way to become the kind of farmers that we want growing our food. But what I do wonder, and what I'm trying to work on, is making that path toward the agrarian way of life an accessable option for those in communities who aren't mindful of these things. Community is important. We are shaped, for better or worse, by the people around us. Young farmers have recognized that they're going to need to organize and support one another in order to become the kind of farmer that they want to become. What I hope we can ultimately accomplish with Justice Gardens, is to help foster that kind of community in places where there has been a draught of awareness and support for a healthy farm to fork system.

There is an interesting article in the New York Times this morning on the rise of food stamp use in the US. One in eight Americans and one and four children are now fed through the food stamp program.

This is a hard topic to try to write about. Mostly, becuase I really don't want to have a political discussion on government aid, the welfare system, or health-care reform---all of which are likely to crop up in the comments if I don't choose my words correctly. That being said, I would like to continue to share my vision for Justice Gardens as it relates to food stamps and hungry children.

When I show people my garden, they are genarally amazed. They see food growing out of the ground in my front yard---heads of cabbage, leafy greens, green beans, potatoes. I'm actually not really that great of a gardener. I'm actually really bad. I'm still learning how to farm a small piece of land (really, it's very small). But I'm still shocked when I see that other people think it's strange or miraculous. And it is, I guess. A little strange. A little miraculous as far as miracles go. That seeds as small as grains of sand can take the nutrients from the soil, the light from the sun, and make food. I guess that is miraculous. I guess what I don't really understand, is how short of a cultural memory we actually have. We used to grow a lot food in this country. When I say "we," I mean of course those of us who aren't really farmers. Most of our grandparents and even some of our parents grew up with evening chores in the garden and root cellars. They ate potatoes and turnips all winter long. They bought big bags of flour and baked bread for 1/3 of the cost as store-bought bread. I rember seeing hundreds of jars of canned vegetables in my grandmother's pantry that lined the walls of her garage.

I wonder why this is so hard for us to imagine happening again? When I share my vision for Justice Gardens with people---which is a vision to share the sustainable agriculture movement with those who need it most---I get a lot of bright eyes and head nods. People being polite at such a grand vision. It's generally accepted that the sustainble food movement is run by rich white people. That bothers me. I love Michael Pollan. I love his books. But the vision he shares is being shared with an elite group of people who have the education and time to read. Don't get me wrong. The change must start somewhere.  But how is that change going to get to urban areas and low income rural areas where people aren't calculting which tomoto is "more local" or the "food miles" of their spinach? Right now, the "foodies," of which I am one of them, are benefiting greatly from the knowledge and resources that are accessible to us. I'm eating much better than I was two years ago. I'm eating cabbage from my front yard and strawberries from my strawberry patch while low-income families fill up on high fructose-corn-syrup-laced bread and nutrient-depleated processed food. This bothers me. And it bothers me that people just expect it to stay that way. I really do believe that people are going hungry in the wealthiest country in the world (please read the NYT article). And I really believe that the days of our abundance are coming to a close. What is frustrating, is that the vision for change is too small. We're still giving out food stamps without also providing a vision and the resources for the kind of long term change that is going to be needed. The change that is needed is a change in what we eat, how it is grown, and how much of it we expect to consume.

The government needs to stop subsidizing large food producers (which is what ultimately happens with food stamps) and start working with families and providing education and resources for families to begin growing their own food again. The long-term benefits would solve the health-care debate, increase our health and quality of life, and give us control over our food system once again.  However, this is unlikely to happen.

The vision of Justice Gardens is to do this work, over the next 50 years.