Starting a Community Food Forest

I live by the mantra that wealth is not how much you have, but how much you can give away. I have a wealth of creativity, passion and knowledge in designing resilient ecosystems and I want to give back to my community so bad, it hurts!

I live in a neighborhood with little access to fresh produce and easy access to ultra processed food. With a Walmart right down the road and more fast food chains popping up, I feel a deep need in this community for better access to nutrition and a beautiful garden.

While more and more unaffordable "luxury" apartment complexes pop up, the unhoused population continues to grow in this area. And with that and all the fast food chains, trash blows into my yard at least once a week.

We need nature. We need nutrition. We need connection to the land and we need space for wildlife to coexist.

I have big dreams and I finally have the courage and support to give it a try!

So close your eyes and envision this with me:

A vacant one acre lot is turned into not just any community garden but a PERMACULTURE FOOD FOREST. A space where a nature preserve meets a community garden. We host workshops, classes, volunteer days, concerts in the garden, farmers markets, farm stands, and donate to the local schools and food banks that are so desperately lacking in fresh produce. We invite the local churches to come bless the land in a way that honors their faith and we all together honor the land by prioritizing rainwater catchment and soil health.

We can be better. We can help each other. Bugs and microbes included!

I believe that this project will heal my community in more than a few ways. In body, in mind, and in spirit. Although I'm intimidated by the legalities and fundraising, I feel that I was put on this earth to serve my community.

My father passed away from liver cancer and kidney disease. Sure, he lived fast and furious but the addictive toxins purposefully put into our food is not a coincidence. The way our chemical industries, food production industries and medical industries are working together in this country is depressing to say the least.

I may not be able to battle the whole system by myself but I can design a productive ecosystem that catches and holds water. I can educate people on the importance of native plants and trees. I can rally volunteers and I can put in my own time, energy and labor into creating something beautiful and useful.

This community is ripe and ready for a meaningful change. By mimicing nature, we can design a food producing ecosystem that becomes lower maintenance the more mature it gets.

This isn't just for us. This is for those who come after us. This is for our ancestors and to honor the gift of life.