CONSERVATION
GROWING FOOD TOGETHER By S. MICHAL BENNETT Photography by JOEL RINER Conserving the tradition of
I n Kootenai County, Idaho, where I live, there are at least six com- munity and non-profit gardens, some independent and some associ- ated with food banks and community kitchens. I was saddened by the recent announcement that one of those kitch- ens would be closing and the property would be developed for housing. Originally established to reclaim a local Coeur d’Alene Tribe agricultur- al and historic site in addition to serv- ing the North Idaho College culinary program and community, this vibrant
little garden has given so much and will be such a loss to this area. Gar- dens, open spaces and parks all pro- vide natural benefits to any urban area, but community gardens offer truly special advantages and better- ment for people, neighborhoods, cities and environments. The first recorded evidence of food cultivation dates to around 23,000 years ago when edible grasses were grown on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in what is now known as the Middle East. What we today call a
“community garden” in the U.S. was first cultivated during the 1890s to meet the needs of the economic reces- sion. Detroit’s Mayor Hazen Stuart Pingree introduced his “potato patch” program that set aside vacant lots for food cultivation when many of the city’s industrial workers were unem- ployed and hungry. During the World Wars, U.S. citi- zens were also encouraged to plant “victory” gardens and to store and preserve the fruits and vegetables for home and community consumption so
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