Why do people steal food? Hunger. When there are problems with theft in a community garden, the bigger issue is that people are struggling to eat. Yes, it's inconvenient for the gardener. But the gardeners should discuss how they can be involved in ending hunger in their community. For many working poor, spending extra time in a garden is not feasible as they have to devote their hours to work and childcare. Don't put up walls and locks to public lands - but get your gardeners together to understand hunger better and decide what you will do about it. http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la.htmlRon Finley has an amazing Ted Talk about guerrilla gardening - planting medians with vegetables for everyone to have. Nobody should have to steal vegetables to have access to them. Healthy, safe produce is hard to come by in urban areas for low income people, but it doesn't have to be.
Meg Hourigan Americorps VISTA Member serving End Hunger Connecticut! Juniata College Class of 2013 (315) 378-7587 On Sun, Sep 8, 2013 at 12:00 PM, < [email protected]> wrote: > Send Community_garden mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Community_garden digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Vegetable theft (Robert Burgess) > 2. Re: Vegetable theft (Robyn Harvey) > 3. Fwd: Number Crunchers Tracking "Progressive" Corporate Good > Food Programs? (James Godsil) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2013 22:50:33 -0400 > From: Robert Burgess <[email protected]> > To: "[email protected]" > <[email protected]> > Subject: [Community_garden] Vegetable theft > Message-ID: > <CAC8bF= > [email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > I'm wondering what other community gardens do when faced with thefts. Our > gardeners have lost lots this summer, eggplants, squash, tomatoes, peppers, > onions etc. We've put a lock on our gate, but we're conflicted about that > route. We're on public land, but run and maintained by a nonprofit and our > members. There are residents who think the space should be open at all > times - but if the fruits of our labor are stolen not many people will want > to garden there anymore. > Thanks, > Robert Burgess > Hudson MA Community Garden > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20130907/9aeb3108/attachment.html > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2013 23:06:17 -0700 (PDT) > From: Robyn Harvey <[email protected]> > To: Robert Burgess <[email protected]>, > "[email protected]" > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [Community_garden] Vegetable theft > Message-ID: > <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Theft is a re-occurring theme Robert. It wipes out community gardens. You > will find other discussions about it in the community gardens ACGA > archives.? > Gardeners in Detroit can maybe speak to this better but as?I understand it > the only really successful strategies are about eliminating ?the us and > them situations in a community. The thieves are neighbours. They live close > by 99% of the time. I mean they are lazy and they are not likely to cross > town to steal from you so yah, its Joe down the way. Also its usually only > a few people that regularly do it so if you could stop one or two the > others might back off as well. The question comes down to, "Do you want to > go beating up someone or to have someone arrested that have children in the > same school as yours?" Tension in the neighbourhood would result and the > thefts might even increase.? > > So lets say you catch a thief, what then if "a no cops and a no fights" > policy makes sense then whats the alternative? Why not turn the whole thing > on its ass? Why not invite the thieves to become gardeners? And if they > refuse try baking them a cake and taking it to their house !!! or worse > invite the entire membership of the community garden and their friends to > the thieve's house for a potluck dinner as soon as possible. Post the > invite on all of the telephone posts and local store fronts. If they won't > let you in host it on the lawn. All humour aside consider that garden > thieves have a lot in common with gardeners. ?Both like the outdoors, both > like to see growing things, both are observant of natures bounty, both like > fresh food and will scrounge around a bit to get it and they already live > close by each other. ?It's almost a marriage. It only needs one more step > to transform a thief to a gardener. > > > When you catch the thief you might try a reverse strategy saying " Oh, you > didn't get any carrots! Here are some! If you had come yesterday the beans > were perfect. But I need to teach you how to pick peas so that you don't > damage the plants. Can you come on Wednesday when we have a class in the > teaching garden ? ?I will have some some beets and rhubarb to give those > who can make it" Or you can just say to them " I need your help. If you > don't stop thieving we will plough the entire garden under and close it for > good. So help me out here." Show them that no one wins if they continue. > Appeal to their humanity. They really are of your community for good or for > ill. They could be an opportunity. They seem to have time when no one else > is around! They already know about thieving and probably know all of the > thieves, so they can be much better at stopping it. Perfect! Then they can > be there when thieves arrive. Teach your neighbour thieves instead of > punishing and as they mature in knowledge and trustworthiness offer them > the abandon plots of gardeners not able to finish the year. This is the > message of Victor Hugo in "Les Miserable" as the priest in the story turns > Jean Valjean's life around. > > Someone told me that one garden gathered all of the grocery store potatoes > that no one wanted and were going to be thrown out anyway. They planted an > empty lot in hundreds of pounds of old sprouting potatoes. They used > thousands of bags of leaves ground up as mulch several feet deep over top > of the potatoes planted in the last inches of melting snow. In this way > they could start planting in March and continue into April and May. They > invited people from the community to a potato harvest day. The thieves came > mixed in with everyone else, so they remained unknown as the thieves and > instead became friends. Later they invited the community again to a pizza > making day. It got the theft and mistrust situation turned around by > involving everyone.? > > Felton Earls is the authority on neighbourhood crime. He says that > neighbourhoods that stand together, know each other and don't leave people > out are less likely to experience on going crime. The best indicator for > security is the willingness for neighbours to stand up for each other. The > old, young, immigrants and weak ?are all included then you are safest. Look > him up and email him. He will answer you. ~ robyn? > > > >________________________________ > > From: Robert Burgess <[email protected]> > >To: "[email protected]" < > [email protected]> > >Sent: Saturday, September 7, 2013 10:50:33 PM > >Subject: [Community_garden] Vegetable theft > > > > > >I'm wondering what other community gardens do when faced with thefts. Our > >gardeners have lost lots this summer, eggplants, squash, tomatoes, > peppers, > >onions etc. We've put a lock on our gate, but we're conflicted about that > >route. We're on public land, but run and maintained by a nonprofit and our > >members. There are residents who think the space should be open at all > >times - but if the fruits of our labor are stolen not many people will > want > >to garden there anymore. > >Thanks, > >Robert Burgess > >Hudson MA Community Garden > >-------------- next part -------------- > >An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > >URL: < > http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20130907/9aeb3108/attachment.html > > > >_______________________________________________ > >The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of > ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to > find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org > > > >To post an e-mail to the list:? [email protected] > > > >To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:? > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20130907/b9c70c3c/attachment.html > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2013 08:50:42 -0500 > From: James Godsil <[email protected]> > To: Community Gardens USA <[email protected]> > Subject: [Community_garden] Fwd: Number Crunchers Tracking > "Progressive" Corporate Good Food Programs? > Message-ID: > <CAH=7yU=v-z=+cEzcsFJP5s9o0xanb= > [email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Dear All, > > > Are there any researchers or reports available that identify which > mainstream > companies have made worthwhile contributions to our movement/industry > cause? > > Or, any partnerships of local, regional, or national mainstream > enterprises, be > they corporations, law firms, or resourced family businesses, worthy of > noticing? > > Or how about tracking people like Dee Hock of Visa, who used their > retirement, in my mind, > to advance social and ecological justice? > > Thanks! > > Godsil > > > -- > James J. Godsil, ABD, co-founder Sweet Water Organics, Sweet Water > Foundation, > Indo American Aquaponics Institute > *http://www.milwaukeerenaissance.com/Godsil/JamesGodsil** > **< > http://www.milwaukeerenaissance.com/SweetWaterOrganicsSweetWaterFoundation > > > * > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20130908/91ca162d/attachment.html > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of > ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to > find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org > > To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > ------------------------------ > > End of Community_garden Digest, Vol 1653, Issue 1 > ************************************************* > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20130909/9ac36758/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
