Growing healthy communities through urban gardening

New Life Journal, June-July, 2002 by Jodi Rhoden, Heather Steele

City Farmer

This Vancouver-based organization s website is one of the most comprehensive sources of information on urban gardening.

City Farmer Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture #801-318 Homer St. Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2V3 Phone: (604) 685-5832 Fax: (604) 685-0431 www.cityfarmer.org

American Community Gardening Association

The American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) is a national nonprofit membership organization of professionals, volunteers and supporters of community greening in urban and rural communities. The website contains a useful how-to guide for starting a community garden in your neighborhood, as well as many resources for grants and funding.

100 N. 20th Street, 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495 (215) 988-8785 FAX (215) 988-8810 www.communitygarden.org

Regional and National Community Gardening Organizations

GROW: The Asheville Community Gardens Project GROW is an inclusive gardening cooperative which farms in vacant or abandoned lots and other community spaces in Asheville. GROW s vision is to encourage and enliven a stronger sense of community, to provide all members of the community with the opportunity to grow, harvest, and eat fresh, local, organic produce, and to empower individuals and groups in the community through outreach and education. GROW invites all to donate time, tools, skills, and money towards their efforts. GROW invites all those interested to a community gardening day at the ABCCM women s shelter garden, at noon on Saturday, June 22, and every Sunday afternoon all through the season at the Pierson Garden in Montford. Meetings are every other Sunday at 2pm at the Pierson garden. Please call 236-9462 for more information. Atlanta Community Food Bank

The Food Bank's Community Garden Initiative helps neighborhood groups with siting, planning, and organizing gardens. It is an ongoing, year-round project that enables people to supplement their food supply by growing some of it themselves. The initiative supports over 150 community gardens in Atlanta. Call or visit the website to find one in your area, or to find out how to start one!

Fred Conrad, Community Garden Coordinator Atlanta Community Food Bank 970 Jefferson Street, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30318 (404) 892-FEED (3333), ext. 216 www.acfb.org/projects/community_garden/

Citysprouts

The CitySprouts mission is to provide Cambridge public schools with sustainable gardens that support the overall curriculum and inspire children to participate in the food cycle from seed to compost.

39 Rindge Ave Cambridge MA 02140 617.491.5732.

San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners

The San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG) is a grassroots organization that empowers communities and individuals with education and employment. Their gardening and greening projects sow the seeds of social justice, community, economic development, and ecological sustainability.

2088 Oakdale Ave. San Francisco, CA 94121 www.slug-sf.org

Green Guerillas

Through a unique mix of outreach, organizing and advocacy, Green Guerillas provides a comprehensive array of services to more than 300 grassroots groups each year. Their skilled staff works to: preserve community gardens for future generations, nurture the next generation of community garden leaders, help gardeners grow food and fight hunger, create and sustain a strong network of community garden supporters, and provide ongoing support to community gardens citywide.