How a New York City Chef Is Finding Refuge in Her Community Garden
I received an email from my local community garden the first week of March, a few months after I’d started purchasing a CSA box from them. It invited members and volunteers to join the garden in preparing for the foreseeable future of food insecurity in the neighborhood of Ocean Hill, just north of Bedford Stuyvesant. I began volunteering shortly after Governor Cuomo announced New York was on pause. Since then, I’ve spent at least two days a week there, gathering with community members to tend the garden beds, sow seeds, and harvest. Some travel just a few steps to get there, while others like me live in surrounding boroughs. There are families, young couples, and even some elders. On my first day volunteering, I was greeted by Herb, an 80-year-old man who was once responsible for farming the entire property, which now he shares with others who want to garden. We all come together (while adhering to social distancing) over the joy of growing food. We nurture the land and relish in the colorful space that we are propagating. At a time when my room to roam is limited, I can still experience variety in the garden: the bright green of the winter collards with the sweet chickweed sprouting from the soil. When the Brooklyn skies are bright and the birds are singing, I’m struck by the abundance of life even in the face of disaster.
Phoenix Community Garden—really more of a micro farm—has been in operation since 2006. The garden is part of Grow NYC, an organization that represents New York City farmers markets, unifying local farmers and growers. The garden annually grows over 2,000 pounds of produce from its 20,000 square feet of land. The bounty is enjoyed by garden members, and the surplus is added into CSA boxes that are available for weekly pickup. I first discovered the garden on one of my weekend summer walks as a way to get to know Brooklyn. Jazzy tunes flowed from its flourished gates, where a red gingham tent shaded the farm stand and its tenders nestled within. They were incredibly welcoming that day, and invited me to volunteer on the weekends. I never did—I was always preoccupied with producing private dining events, though I went back sometimes to pick up fresh ingredients.
As an executive chef of an upcoming restaurant and a culinary creative, I’ve long been involved in food sourcing. I’ve always dreamed of moving to a farm to cultivate nourishment and be part of a community with a collective goal. (I know many people, particularly now, have similar aspirations to escape and do what really matters.) When I lived in Portland, I used to visit the farms I sourced from—it felt essential to my routine. Moving to New York made that connection to the land briefly tenuous. But now I know that I have a version of that reality where I am. Not only do I get to visit it, but—all the more vital during an otherwise uncertain time—I get to be involved in its growth.
Community gardens have often been places of togetherness in times of chaos. They help address serious public health issues in metropolitan neighborhoods: food insecurity, neglect of nature, and lack of community working towards a greater goal. They are the overlooked hearts of our cities; they’ve always been here, beating softly beneath the noise.
To find your own community garden in New York, visit grownyc.org.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
