Food Not Lawns
Information
Promote food security and local food systems this year by growing vegetables or fruits preferably on your front lawn, donate a portion to the CVCAC food shelf, and post a Food Not Lawns / Food Shelf Contributor sign for all passersby to see.
Members: 12
Latest Activity: Dec 3
There are already 20 members signed up for the Food Not Lawns Group on the Community for a Greater Barre site and it might be time to see if others are interested too. This is a low-maintenance group. It's called the Central Vermont Chapter but heck - anyone can do this wherever you are and contribute your surplus to your local food pantry - so join! It requires mostly individual action and minimal group organization.
And, of course, check out the workshops offered on Lawns to Gardens - as advertised on this site (next one is March 30th at Kellogg Hubbard Library)!
If you haven't read the Food Not Lawns book and you're interested in changing the world one tomato or flower at a time, you've got to get your hands on a copy or at least visit the website at www.foodnotlawns.net.
While this book inspired me and has inspired others to garden together through community gardens, it's also inspired me to use my front lawn as a way to VISIBLY promote food security and local food systems to all who drive by, walk by and live nearby. This year - my first year of turning my lawn into a garden - I challenge you to join me.
And, in addition to growing something on your front lawn, I challenge you to donate a portion of your plots yield to the CVCAC food shelf. I'm a CVCAC employee (have been for 8 years) and am compelled to do something about nutritious fresh food at the food shelf. They need more diversity and they just plain need more - more and more families (working families! and seniors!) are dependent upon the food shelf in this economy.
And, I ask you to join me in posting a visible sign next to your garden - visible for all passersby to see - a Food Not Lawns / Food Shelf Contributor sign. My dream is to have people all around Barre (and central Vermont!) doing this (and if they are already doing it to go the extra step of putting the sign up!) and then creating a map of all of the people who are involved. This is a nice way of making your individual gardening efforts at home even more powerful by banding together with others and making a difference for people in need.
As a stretch goal...around harvest time, I envision us working together to serve one or more community dinners using the harvests from all of the "front lawn food gardens" to serve healthy meals for those in need. Of course, this can be coordinated on a neighborhood or community level by willing participants.
Please join this group if you are willing to join this movement! And, if you don't have a front yard, please consider container gardening out front... Or, if you want to put a row of your existing garden into use as a foodshelf row, please join too!
Finally, if you live elsewhere, please join here and consider getting others in your home community to join our effort. I'm hoping we can make a central Vermont chapter depending upon how many people want to get involved.
And, of course, check out the workshops offered on Lawns to Gardens - as advertised on this site (next one is March 30th at Kellogg Hubbard Library)!
If you haven't read the Food Not Lawns book and you're interested in changing the world one tomato or flower at a time, you've got to get your hands on a copy or at least visit the website at www.foodnotlawns.net.
While this book inspired me and has inspired others to garden together through community gardens, it's also inspired me to use my front lawn as a way to VISIBLY promote food security and local food systems to all who drive by, walk by and live nearby. This year - my first year of turning my lawn into a garden - I challenge you to join me.
And, in addition to growing something on your front lawn, I challenge you to donate a portion of your plots yield to the CVCAC food shelf. I'm a CVCAC employee (have been for 8 years) and am compelled to do something about nutritious fresh food at the food shelf. They need more diversity and they just plain need more - more and more families (working families! and seniors!) are dependent upon the food shelf in this economy.
And, I ask you to join me in posting a visible sign next to your garden - visible for all passersby to see - a Food Not Lawns / Food Shelf Contributor sign. My dream is to have people all around Barre (and central Vermont!) doing this (and if they are already doing it to go the extra step of putting the sign up!) and then creating a map of all of the people who are involved. This is a nice way of making your individual gardening efforts at home even more powerful by banding together with others and making a difference for people in need.
As a stretch goal...around harvest time, I envision us working together to serve one or more community dinners using the harvests from all of the "front lawn food gardens" to serve healthy meals for those in need. Of course, this can be coordinated on a neighborhood or community level by willing participants.
Please join this group if you are willing to join this movement! And, if you don't have a front yard, please consider container gardening out front... Or, if you want to put a row of your existing garden into use as a foodshelf row, please join too!
Finally, if you live elsewhere, please join here and consider getting others in your home community to join our effort. I'm hoping we can make a central Vermont chapter depending upon how many people want to get involved.
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Comment by Emily Kaminsky on April 7, 2009 at 9:31pm - April 22nd is our first potluck at the Barre library (Aldrich Library). 6 pm to 7:30 pm. Bring a dish to share. Peter Burke - square foot gardening teacher and Jim Mangene, Food Shelf Director, will be on hand. RSVP using the event on this site!
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Comment by Michaela Maestas on April 4, 2009 at 6:35am
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hi, good sat. morning..
ok, if u have a party .I will come. love Micha
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Comment by Emily Kaminsky on April 3, 2009 at 10:46pm
- here are just some ideas - maybe there are more? Have a lawn sign making party, organize some members to help other members turn their lawn into a garden (a la permablitz), invite a speaker to learn about square foot gardening, lasagna gardening or area food needs for our neighbors who use food shelfs and soup kitchens, cooperatively purchase soil for lower price (assumes people want to do raised beds - some might), cook some of your produce together and serve it to people from a local church kitchen, etc.
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what kind of activities can this group do together???
love Micha in Burlington
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Comment by Keith Morris on April 2, 2009 at 11:45pm -
Lamoille Valley/ Salvation Farms Food Not Lawns Events:
http://transitionvermont.ning.com/xn/detail/2432395:Event:10105
and
http://www.vtfoodbank.org/upload/photos/529workshop_schedule.pdf
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Comment by Emily Kaminsky on April 2, 2009 at 11:16pm
- Please come and join us for a potluck and initial gathering for Food Not Lawns on April 22nd, Earth Day from 6 to 7:30 pm at the Aldrich Library. For the event listing on this site, go to: http://transitionvermont.ning.com/events/food-not-lawns-intro-meeting or click here to be redirected to the event listing.
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- oooppps!! type Os .. too busy to fix my comments. love M
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hi, I've working 9 hours a day with kids to get rid of the gosh darn lawn and up Busy in the gardens. hard work but fun.. I've been at it for 3 yrs. !
love Micha in the new northend of Burlington VT
Woodbury Daycare
www.woodburydaycarevpweb.com
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Comment by Emily Kaminsky on March 25, 2009 at 8:36am
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Hi Deb! I love the soup kitchen donation idea. Thanks for adding that to the possible places to donate.
I'm starting plants from seed right now and am interested in sharing some ideas and asking questions. I've got them under a grow light and have done the requisite peppers and eggplants. Those are the ones you're supposed to start before the end of March!
Community greenhouse would be an amazing resource if we had one - then maybe we wouldn't all have to buy growlights!
Emily
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Comment by Deborah Lisman on March 24, 2009 at 8:32pm -
Hi all,
Hey, Emily, thanks for sharing your dedication to GardensNotLawns.
this will be my first year making a food garden and I'm pretty excited about it, though relatively clueless about the process. I'll definitely be attending Mark's presentation about "Lawns to Gardens" at the library on the 30th - (I need all the helpful info I can get!)
By the way, is anyone planning on starting their veggie plants from seed in your home prior to planting time? And if so, I'd love to connect about how to do it, maybe get some help/comeraderie and have a seed planting gathering??
That is, if it's not already too late in the season to do it.
Also, once I have a garden that's harvest-able, I was thinking of donating some of it to the local Montpelier churches that have weekly soup-kitchens and free meals for the community. It would be great for them to have fresh extra produce, if anyone else wants to donate too.
I'm going to ask around in my neighborhood to see if others want to join this too.
thank again,
Cheers,
Deborah
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