Join a diverse group of children for a fun day at a community garden, learning both counting skills and fun facts about fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

A diverse group of people in San Francisco shares the work and fun of a community garden.

Why have so many churches started community gardens over the past decade? Are they simply a fad? Or do community gardens somehow connect more deeply with the mission of the churches that launch them? What can churches and faith-based institutions interested in starting community gardens learn from those that have started their own gardens over the past decade? And what would it mean for a church to put Christ in the center of its community gardening efforts? In order to discern best practices for launching Christ-centered community gardens moving forward, Cultivating Neighborhood begins with a brief survey of the history of community gardens in the United States and builds a constructive theological framework for community gardening grounded in the practice of Christian hospitality. It continues with two case studies of church-sponsored community gardens and one case study of a community garden sponsored by a Christian college, all three of which were created between 2003 and 2011. The results of this research conclude with a new definition of Christ-centered community gardening and an outline of fifteen best practices for launching a Christ-centered community garden.

Growing food in a community garden is a great idea, and lots of communities have them. When the fruits and vegetables are ready, everyone gets to take some home. This book will teach young readers about working with their neighbors to grow a garden. Reluctant readers will be drawn in by the accessible text. Full-color photographs on each page help children connect with what they’re reading. Readers will be eager to pick up this book and learn about community gardens.

Full Color Edition. Community Gardens. Grab your shovel, spade and other tools....lets band together and make more Community Gardens. This can help Health for Physical Activity, this can help Hunger for the ever changing face since the 2008 Financial Crisis, this can help various groups in our Nation with Job Skills, form tighter Neighborhood Associations sharing various Vegetables like Tomatoes, Fresh Corn, lots of Greens, Fruits, items from Orchards, etc. Farmers Markets can be formed that can reach various new places in your City or Town. Together, lets Think differently. Lets Help America with Food Insecurity and become more Food Secure. Together, we can do it. Be creative, enjoy the Sunshine for Vitamin D, grab some Seeds, Gloves, get Dirty, lets start planning, planting and get ready for the Fall Harvest! YES!

Community gardening is as much about community as it is gardening, and compared to growing plants, cultivating community is far more difficult. In Community Gardening in an Unlikely City: The Struggle to Grow Together in Las Vegas, Schafer documents his time as a member of a fledgling Las Vegas community garden and the process through which a rotating group of gardeners try to forge community. He demonstrates the ways in which choices gardeners make about what goals to pursue, or who belongs, or what story to tell about their collective efforts, influence how they and others experience and interpret the garden. The garden culture that emerges over time shapes how, or whether, community is practiced at the garden, and has important consequences for the gardeners’ abilities to connect with the low-income, Black and Latinx community in which it is located. Schafer’s analysis provides important insights about urban culture, the environment, and food justice in the American Southwest, and a sober look into the often messy process and practice of community.