Community n. Common enjoyment; participation; a body of people having common interests.
Community Food Projects bring people together in local communities of all ages, abilities and social backgrounds, where they share knowledge and interact.
What do participants gain from being involved in a Community Garden or Community Food Project?
1. They learn new skills and how growing, harvesting and eating your own food is good for both mental and physical health.
2. They learn about the seasonality of food and pick up recipe ideas and new cooking techniques.
3. They try out different foods and flavours that were once popular but may not be available in supermarkets.
4. They’re encouraged to grow their own food at home in tandem with the community food project.
5. They learn how successes and failures of growing food are ‘normal’.
6. They have a better appreciation of how difficult it can be to grow food without using chemicals and why organic food is generally more expensive at markets and in shops.
7. They’re more likely to shop locally, searching out better quality foods and flavours.
8. Participants have a better appreciation of their community.
9. Community gardens are available to people on a tight budget.
10. Participants will have learnt a basic life skill – they will know that whatever happens, they will be able to provide food for themselves and their families.
This list could go on. There’s room for a community garden everywhere, you only need a small scrap of land to create one and an enthusiastic couple of people to get one up and running. So why not give it a go.
If you know of any community gardens running in your area I’d love to hear about them. Please leave a comment or link with details so I can follow it up, or send me a tweet. If you’d like more information about community gardens and how they can help your community, contact Greenside Up.
