The article explores the rise of community gardens in urban areas, highlighting their role in fostering community connections, promoting food security, and addressing the environmental impact of globalized food systems. It features the Yates Street Community Garden in Victoria, British Columbia, as a prime example of this trend.
There\u2019s so few green spaces in downtown, and most of our garden members live in apartment buildings where they don\u2019t have access to grow food,\u201d explains Yates Street Community Garden coordinator Lisa Small. The garden — which was started in 2016 — has more than 80 members, as well as local non-profits and nearby daycare that also use the space, helping to grow connection and community.
\u201cWe host a number of public events here so that residents in downtown can come and enjoy the garden as well and learn what\u2019s going on here, and experience a little oasis in the city where there\u2019s bees and plants growing and food growing,\u201d Small says. \u201cIt\u2019s a whole network of folks who really care about food and looking at good, healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems,\u201d explains Linda Geggie of the Good Food Network and the That means growing more healthy food here to not only reduce food insecurity and help those in need but also lower their reliance on importing food from around the world. \u201cWe\u2019ve all seen the fires in California and climate change and these globalized food systems that are very damaging to the environment and causing greenhouse gasses,\u201d Geggie says. \u201cWe need to be also thinking about how we can localize food systems and have food produced closer to home.\u201d Iyé Creative, a non-profit that is also part of the Good Food Network, promotes access to culturally significant foods for newcomers and people of African descent. \u201cWhen you go to the farmers market, you can\u2019t find these foods, so we need to start growing the food we eat,\u201d says Iyé Creative co-founder Ariel Reyes Antun. \u201cAnd if we can create a framework where we can eat more locally, that\u2019s a win-win for everyone.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ve been working for 10 years as part of a good food strategy, and we\u2019ve been able to change some really amazing things,\u201d Geggie says. By collaborating, food education and food security efforts like the Yates Street garden are flourishing, but more work still needs to be done
COMMUNITY GARDENS FOOD SECURITY LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE URBAN GREEN SPACES
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