All The Cool Neighborhoods Have Them

If you've been living under a rock for the past year, or you studiously avoid any mention of Detroit in your reading, you might not know that community gardens have been "sprouting" (forgive me, I can't resist it) almost as fast as hipsters around town. Companion planting in action?

According to the Garden Resource Program Collaborative, there are now more than 875 community gardens in the city.


They look a little different in each neighborhood, but they function as literal and figurative village greens for their surrounding blocks. People get to know each other over a shovel, gather for picnics and barbecues, and rebuild ties that used to be the norm in neighborhoods. In Woodbridge, with its abundance of artists and creative minds, the garden has an element of open-air gallery and sculpture garden.

...aftermath of Halloween festivities in the garden

There actually ARE a few good grocery stores in Detroit, in spite of what some lame-o media lemmings write. However, it is true that many Detroiters lack cars and therefore lack easy access to fresh, inexpensive food.

...late bloomers with grand old homes of Woodbridge in the background....

Wherever you live, imagine that you can only buy your food at the closest 7-11, or from the gas station mini-mart....and you have to walk, ride your bike, or take the bus there....with your two small children in tow. That's the option and pricing that many Detroiters live with.

If you want to read more about people trying to fix this, check out these sites:
The Garden Resource Program - an umbrella organization for many of the area's urban agriculture resources and gardens
Earthworks Urban Farm - founded by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, this is one of the earliest (1997) and most established programs in Detroit's urban ag world
Georgia Street Community Collective Garden - with a tag line of "one house, one block, one neighborhood at a time", GSCC is a testament to one man's ability to change and grow his corner of Detroit. Mark Covington rocks.
Detroit Black Community Food Security Network -coordinating urban ag efforts in Detroit's black community, helping develop city food policy, and co-operative buying