Have you been dreaming of what you will plant in your garden this spring? Gardening Matters and other local gardeners will discuss this and more at the 9th annual Community Garden Spring Resource Fair at Metropolitan State University. Gardening Matters hosts the event, scheduled this year on Saturday, March 9, 2013 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Community Garden Spring Resource Fair is not just a gathering of people dreaming about what will be in their gardens this spring, it is a collection of people concerned about strengthening communities, repairing the relationship that we have with our food and improving peoples’ health, said Gardening Matters Executive Director Jeremiah Ellis.
Gardening Matters is a non-profit group in Minneapolis dedicated to making the connections between gardeners and community garden organizers and resources. They believe that the key to a successful Good Food Movement is to continue to make a network of resources. These resources often include gardeners, food shelves, schools, restaurants, politicians, and community service groups.
Society has gotten further away from the days when we produced our own food, according to the Good Food Movement. We have become accustomed to fast, preservative-ladened food that is sometimes unrecognizable as something edible. The Good Food Movement would like to change that. Said Ellis, the movement’s mantra is, “What are you doing each day to get healthy food in your daily life?”
Some of the local resources for gardeners include agencies that educate gardeners, sell low-cost bulk seeds, collect excess produce to supply area food shelves, grow food that goes to schools and work with city officials to re-zone areas for gardens. The network of resources connects people with the means to access fresh and healthy food.
The Community Garden Spring Resources Fair will include exhibits from the Eastside Prosperity Campaign, the Mulch Store and the Minneapolis Healthy Food Shelf Network among many others. Longtime community activist, LaDonnna Redmond from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy will be presenting her keynote address “Reconstructing Our Relationship with Land” with a local panel to follow. To find the complete schedule and pre-register for the fair, go to www.gardeningmatters.org A $10 donation is suggested.
To read more about the community gardens and resources around the Twin Cities:
• In Twin Cities, communities never sleep
• Neighbors meet to discuss possible local food resource hub for St. Paul’s east side
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