Community Gardening

This year, my dear friend organized, spearheaded, and made happen a community garden. Loving gardening as I do, I quickly jumped on board and leased a plot, and then another. The garden quickly filled up, and people rallied around it, as if it was something they had been waiting for. I know I had been!

For $35.00 per plot, per year, you have a 25 by 12 ft. plot, access to water, and a space in which to grow whatever you wish. In return, you must donate 10% of your yield to the area food pantry and agree to garden organically. It is a wonderful concept: it does something positive for an old empty lot, helps the environment, brings the community together, helps feed the hungry, provides healthy sustenance to your family, cuts down on a households food costs, and even provides exercise and fresh air to the gardeners. What's not to love?

Imagine how surprised I was when I found out that ours was the first and only community garden in our county. Ours is considered a wealthy county, however, there are more and more "white collar" poor, and the food pantry is getting more clients every day. All this while there are still many empty lots here and there...every neighborhood has at least one....and so I have to ask myself why aren't more of these little gardens? With so many benefits, it seems to me that if every neighborhood had one, so many problems could be solved, gaps filled, and we would all be healthier for it. Maybe I am naive and it isn't that simple. Or maybe the answer is indeed that simple; staring right at us. Often solutions are just like that.

Of course, community gardening isn't in line with the agricultural giants agenda, which could explain why they are not more actively promoted. Sadly, if agri-biz gets house bill 875 pushed through, community gardens- especially "organic" community gardens, will become a thing of the past. Under the guise of "eliminating food born illness", house bill 875 will make it illegal to grow food organically (i.e without the use of fertilizers and insecticides), this even includes the home gardener who grows food only for his/her own family's consumption with no plans to sell or distribute.

This is something we should all WAKE UP and pay close attention to. Whether or not you are into organic food, it is really all about CHOICE. Do you really want the government taking away that choice? This bill, by the way, is backed by the very entities who will profit from the elimination of organic foods. Monsanto, maker of Round Up and the worlds largest seed distributor, is a major backer. Do you want those who profit most from what you eat deciding what you eat? Do you want to lose the fundamental freedom to decide how to nourish you own body? And if you allow the government to take away your right to choose, what is going to be next? It is a slippery slope, my friend.

It's time to get informed. There is plenty of information out there on this bill. Find out all you can and then let your voice be heard.