Last fall, a half-dozen teenagers from the Southern New Jersey city of Camden brought hot peppers they’d grown in an urban garden to a rented industrial kitchen. Donning latex gloves, they de-seeded and chopped the chilies before adding them to vinegar and salt. A few days later, they processed and bottled the resulting product into their own brand of hot sauce, Kapow! The group is part of a teen-focused entrepreneurial program called Eco Interns, offered by the Camden-area Center for Environmental Transformation(CFET). The mission of this nonprofit is to create a sustainable, healthy source of fresh fruit and vegetables through community gardens and a farmers’ market for an underserved urban community, while offering job training and education with a focus on meeting environmental challenges.

Incredible Edible Community Gardens are a non-profit in the Upland and Ontario area focused on the founding and sustaining of community gardens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3StAuG5E98

According to Gunhild Stordalen, an amazing woman from the EAT Forum in Sweden, food is the main issue around which coalesces all the other threats: climate change (food growing alone is responsible for 24 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions), poor health, social inequality, soil loss, and biodiversity loss. https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/urbanism/publiccommunity/the-incredible-edible-garden-movement-with-salaried-staff

What would an economy look like if it prioritized boosting community wealth, rebuilding community life, upholding social justice and harmonizing with environment over pursuit of profit? Today, many cities fully embrace redevelopment as a strategy to revitalize whole districts, as we are witnessing in old manufacturing centers such as Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Even smaller cities such as Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, are getting in on the action. Instead of greenfields, brownfields and their classic, historic architecture, their raw industrial grit, are back in vogue. Redevelopment, renewal and adaptive reuse are no longer buzzwords, but well-established strategies with an impressive track record. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/4-techniques-catalyze-sustainable-small-town-redevelopment

Food Tank - The Think Tank for Food America’s Grow-a-Row works to positively improve the lives of people in the Northeast United States by planting, harvesting, rescuing, and delivering fresh produce to those in need, free of charge. With more than 9,000 volunteers, America’s Grow-a-Row grows, gleans, and gives over 1 million pounds of fruits and vegetables to people throughout New Jersey, New York City, and Pennsylvania annually. America’s Grow-a-Row educates all their volunteers about hunger, introduces younger generations to farming and healthy lifestyles, cultivates a spirit of kinship and giving, and contributes to the reduction of food waste. https://foodtank.com/news/2018/05/america-grow-a-row-chip-paillex/

A few residents initiated this core working group in May to begin a conversation about a new green project intended to grow Merchantville beyond our community garden and farmers market by creating a supportive culture of understanding, learning and action towards environmental stewardship and a sustainable future. Using the Pam Warhurst Incredible Edible Network - eat our landscapes - model as an outline we hope to galvanize the community by growing herbs and vegetables in public spaces, celebrating local food, bringing sustainable edible living to life through local school education, and supporting our local food economy through restaurants and businesses. Nurturing environmental stewardship in Merchantville through the development of edible landscapes to promote a healthy culture and sustainable future. "Creating a kind, confident and connected community through the power of food." - Pam Warhurst. Join the discussion and follow our progress on our FB group and FB page.