Supporting food that is Good, Clean & Fair.
The Mission.......
The Slow Food-Charlotte Convivia has undertaken a new project—the community garden collaborative. The goal of the collaborative is to focus on the last part of good, clean, fair food.
We aim to take the concepts of local food systems to their most radically simple conclusion—to help individuals, particularly our neighbors with limited resources, create a means of feeding themselves good, clean food from their own spaces. We are promoting the use of any space with soil and sun—yards, empty lots, publically-owned lands and private spaces.
The core concepts of a community garden—sustainability, food justice, the intense connection between growing and eating food—represent the best of what the Slow Food movement is.
The school garden project started by Slow Food members at Shamrock Elementary last year is a great success, and an inspiration to expand the mission to the community at large.
One facet of our collaborative is to provide funding, volunteers and other assistance to a group of like-minded individuals working together to promote urban garden under the name Farming Urban Landscapes Locally, or FULL. Some of these folks are Slow Food members, some not, but the mission is good regardless. As importantly, we are supporting several community garden initiatives around town, most notably the new community garden at Area15—an artist’s colony located at 15th and North Davidson Streets---and a community garden located at the Charlotte Tailgate market in the South End.
We aim to take the concepts of local food systems to their most radically simple conclusion—to help individuals, particularly our neighbors with limited resources, create a means of feeding themselves good, clean food from their own spaces. We are promoting the use of any space with soil and sun—yards, empty lots, publically-owned lands and private spaces.
The core concepts of a community garden—sustainability, food justice, the intense connection between growing and eating food—represent the best of what the Slow Food movement is.
The school garden project started by Slow Food members at Shamrock Elementary last year is a great success, and an inspiration to expand the mission to the community at large.
One facet of our collaborative is to provide funding, volunteers and other assistance to a group of like-minded individuals working together to promote urban garden under the name Farming Urban Landscapes Locally, or FULL. Some of these folks are Slow Food members, some not, but the mission is good regardless. As importantly, we are supporting several community garden initiatives around town, most notably the new community garden at Area15—an artist’s colony located at 15th and North Davidson Streets---and a community garden located at the Charlotte Tailgate market in the South End.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sue Varga on -
Seeds of Change has also started an urban gardening initiative. There might be some resources to tap there, too.
I'd like the community garden we've started at Myers Park United Methodist to be a part of Charlotte's urban agriculture community, if possible....Sue -
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Permalink Reply by Rich Deming on -
Absolutely Sue---we're still working out what that means exactly, but anyone who is doing it should be included. Do you have any pictures of your garden you could send me? I want to put together a slide show of sorts for the fundraiser. Thanks! Rich
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Permalink Reply by Troy@earthfare on -
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Permalink Reply by Mimi Forbes Beal on -
Please add me as a volunteer to this project. This would be the first activity for me as a member (who has never attended a meeting).
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Permalink Reply by Rich Deming on
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Okay Mimi....do you want to volunteer at one of the gardens or volunteer at our March 28th fundraiser at Earthfare? Thanks......
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Permalink Reply by Mimi Forbes Beal on
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I definitely want to work in the gardens. Weed, seed, plant, water, whatever is needed.
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Permalink Reply by Don Rosenberg on -
Hi All,
I'm happy to offer any help I can in planning these gardens. My aim would be to make them as easy to manage as possible, while also being as productive and efficient as possible. Feel free to call or email directly.
Don Rosenberg 704-364-1784 donrosenberg@gmail.com -
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Permalink Reply by Sue Varga on
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I'm happy to help with the fund-raiser on the 28th at Earthfare! Mornings are best for me. ...Sue
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Permalink Reply by Robert Hancock on
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I'd love to help out anyway I can. I recently moved back to NC from Alabama where I was pretty active with a similar initiative. Granted, land isn't laying around uptown Charlotte like Birmingham, but Jones Valley Urban Farm there has been wildly successful: http://www.jvuf.org/index.html. And there is land laying around in many of the neighborhoods surrounding the immediate uptown area. Feel free to give me a ring, 704.293.8738 or rdhancock@hotmail.com
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Permalink Reply by Rich Deming on
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Hey Robert,
There are a group of us meeting regularly about how to push this initiative forward. Next meeting is on the 13th at 11, close to East/West Blvd.....feel free to come by or if that doesn't work we'll have to get together somewhere else....Cheers,Rich -
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Permalink Reply by Don Rosenberg on
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Hi All,
I'm working on a private community garden in the Cotswold Mall area - Craig Avenue, Charlotte. We'll be building raised beds and using a compost/sand soil. If anyone wants the details and to see us at work (or join in!) please contact me for details. We'll be working this Sunday 4/5 starting around 11am.
I'm also working on a garden for Rama Road Elementary School. We're tentatively planning to build it some time around April 20-22 and plant with the kids that Friday, April 24. Let me know if you're interested in helping out.
I think my approach to community gardening might be of interest, since it's designed to dramatically reduce the workload of managing the garden, especially compared with those that use existing soil to grow in.
donrosenberg@gmail.com -
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Permalink Reply by Sue Varga on
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Just wanted to share with everyone that Lisa Moore's article on community gardens has been published in "Natural Awakenings" magazine. Picture of girl w sunflower are on the cover. You can pick it up where the free mags are inside Earthfare, Harris Teeter, etc. A good bit of the article covers the Slow Food gardens.
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