LaManda Joy, the founder of Chicago{u2019}s Peterson Garden Project and a board member of the American Community Gardening Association, has worked in the community gardening trenches for years and brings her knowledge to the wider world in Start a Community Food Garden. This hardworking guide covers every step of the process: fundraising, community organizing, site sourcing, garden design and planning, finding and managing volunteers, and managing...

From Community GroundWorks in Madison, Wisconsin, to Greensgrow Farm in eastern Philadelphia, readers will learn about the motivating vision and people behind each organization. They will also find advice and guidance on everyday issues such as distribution, working with at-risk populations, fostering community, providing therapeutic assistance, and building the infrastructure to maintain new initiatives.

Fifteen people--plus a class of first graders--tell how local food, farms, and gardens changed their lives and their community . . . and how they can change yours, too. Urban Farming Handbook includes fifteen first-person stories of personal and civic transformation from a range of individuals, including farmers and community garden members, a low-income senior, a troubled teen, a foodie, and a food bank officer. The book includes seven in-depth "How...

"Each time Lizzie steps through the gates of the Vista Mar Community Gardens, she knows she's left the chaos of the outside world behind. Here, the rows are even, tools are properly stored, and each season brings new life. But even the shiniest apple can hide a worm, and behind the leafy green façade there is hidden heartbreak, tomato hornworms, and inter-garden political powerplays. And to make things worse-a long forgotten loophole enacted by a...

"Spring Is in the Air: As the young people of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, plant a garden in memory of their friend, Katie Ann begins to worry that her older brother, Ephraim, is dating her best friend. What if she somehow loses them both? But Christian, a new boy in the community, also works in the garden--and falling for him may be exactly the distraction, and lesson, that Katie Ann needs. Home by Summer: Clara Hertzler is surprised when Jerry Petersheim,...

"Once there was a lot full of trash. Now there is a lush, green farm. This is the story of Harlem Grown, a garden in New York City"--

There is an empty lot in Sadiq's neighborhood which is in serious need of cleaning up, and Sadiq has come up with an idea of what to do with it afterwards: build a community garden--so Sadiq sets out to get his classmates and friends involved and make the garden a true community success.

"Miguel has many plants in his community garden, and today he must find his sunflowers. Let's help Miguel look for them!"--Back cover.

"Melody Ellison just turned ten, and she's dreaming of new ways to make her community a better place! When her pastor issues a New Year's challenge, she decides to fix up a neighborhood playground and plant a garden. But when her friends put her in charge, Melody finds out just how hard it can be to lead. From opportunities of a lifetime in Motown, to learning what it means to not give up in the face of setbacks and adversity, Melody discovers that...

"Yasmina isn t like the other kids in her city. Maybe it s the big chef hat she wears. Or the fact that she stuffs her dad s lunchbox full of spring rolls instead of peanut butter and jelly. She might be an oddball, but no one can deny that Yasmina has a flair for food. All she needs to whip up a gourmet meal is a recipe from her cookbook and fresh vegetable form the community garden. But everything changes when the garden is bulldozed and replaced...