One thing encountered at the community gardens I've worked and participated in - Community members that believe that the term "Community Garden" means that it is open to the whole community to harvest- It's a community garden after all. (!) Perhaps there is an area for that purpose, but there has to be some public education.
Also, when the theft happens (and it happens right in front of us- I've also experienced the lying to my face routine) there needs to be some form of indignation on our part- some type of expression of unhappiness about the lying and the stealing. I'm not advocating yelling or fighting- but I am advocating speaking against improper behaviors and offering them the opportunity to ask for things in the future. Often we just roll over on it, shrug our shoulders, and excuse bad behavior with the words "they must be more hugry than me". But that isn't a valid excuse nor is it always the truth of the matter. I have seen the same person going from one community garden to another, her car loaded with produce she has taken- big laundry baskets full of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cukes, beans, you name it. She's doing it to stock her pantry- she's going to do some canning- she's going to give some as Christmas presents, etc. This is not isolated. Let's not be too quick to say they are hungry. We intentionally grow large areas of the garden purely for giving to the food banks- and we give a lot! If someone is hungry- they only need to ask. This is stealing, and as another person stated, it is Greed. Jaded? I prefer to call it "experienced". Sad but true. ________________________________ From: Linda Sliter <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: Genevieve Jessop Marsh <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 9, 2013 12:33 PM Subject: [Community_garden] An approach to curbing community garden veggie theft Hi all, My name is Linda Sliter, the Community Garden Manager, at Garden City Harvest in Missoula, MT. Garden City Harvest's mission is to build community through agriculture by growing produce with and for people with low-incomes, offering education and training in ecologically conscious agriculture, and using our sites for the personal restoration of youth and adults. We have a community garden program with seven total community gardens offering over 300 community garden plots. We've encountered veggie theft at almost every community garden have tried many approaches to reducing veggie theft. Our most innovative approach was to create a Community Food Security Plot at the Northside Community Garden -- a garden that doesn't have a fence and is always open to the public. The Community Food Security Plot is section of the garden where it is okay for non-gardeners to harvest. Gardeners are encouraged to direct/re-direct community members to harvest from this place instead of people's gardens. We try to plant fruits and veggies that are likely to get stolen from a gardener's plot like tomatoes, pumpkins (people like to smash), carrots, etc. We post signs that say 'ready to harvest,' 'I'm still growing,' etc. -- it's interactive, educational and promotes community involvement in the garden. While we still see veggie theft and vandalism, we like this approach vs. prohibiting access to the garden. Here's a link to a blog I wrote on preventing veggie theft<http://www.gardencityharvest.org/?p=2003&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=264>. Hope this is helpful and please let me know if you come up with something that works at your community gardens! ~Linda -- *Linda Sliter* Community Garden Manager Garden City Harvest 406.239.8236 [email protected] *grow. feed. inspire* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20130909/cfc37f1b/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/20130909/c904408e/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
