City Farm, Chicago
Piush Dahal, via Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License
Imagine that you're growing a particular flower or vegetable, and that no matter where you go in your community, you see your neighbors growing the same thing. Do you think this would strengthen your community? Would it encourage non-gardeners to start gardening?
It could do these things, and more. This year, One Seed Chicago is focusing on drawing attention to food deserts and childhood obesity by encouraging Chicagoland residents to grow, cook, and eat their own veggies. The organization is helping residents learn to eat what they grow via their "seed to plate" initiative, in which prominent chefs and others share recipes for how to cook the three vegetables that are up for voting.
In contention this year: radishes, eggplant, and the ever-versatile, dependable, prolific, stunning Swiss chard. I'll leave it to you to guess which of the three is my favorite.
Chicagoland residents can vote at the One Seed Chicago page through April 1, 2011. Upon voting, residents will be signed up to receive a packet of the winning seeds, whether it was the one they voted for or not. Who wouldn't want free vegetable seeds? Also be sure to check out their Facebook page and [url='http://www.twitter.com/oneseedchicago']Twitter feed.
One Seed Chicago as a Community-Building Model
What interests us most about One Seed Chicago is the question of how the ideas they've developed can be a model for other communities. Look at what they're doing: drawing attention to important issues, getting people to garden, and, most importantly, encouraging and facilitating communication between neighbors. Pretty lofty stuff, when you think about it.
What if you got everyone on your block or cul de sac to grow the same flower or vegetable? It just might get people talking to one another. It can be as small or as large as it needs to be: from your block, to your book club, to your entire city or beyond. Last year, I participated in a virtual version of the One Seed idea with my fellow gardening bloggers through the Garden Blogger Seed GROW project. In addition to the camaraderie that develops between the participants, it's always interesting to see what a plant will do when grown in a variety of conditions.
Whether you're in Chicago or not, consider getting involved in a community greening project like this -- it's a great way to beautify the neighborhood while getting to know your neighbors at the same time.
