Slog
News & ArtsMonday, March 11, 2013
Life Guerrilla Gardening in South Central
Posted by Gillian Anderson on Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Ron Finley gives a terrific TED Talk about his work planting gardens in the food desert of South Central Los Angeles. It is really worth a watch (it's only 10 minutes). He became a gardening renegade after the city tried to make him take out the vegetable garden in his planting strip.
"To change the community, you have to change the composition of the soil. We are the soil… Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do. Especially in the inner city. Plus you get strawberries."
2
Last week the Verge posted a delightful article, "Inside TED: the smartest bubble in the world" http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/5/4061684…
5
guess he didn't get the memo that even the New York Times got: "food deserts" are an urban myth to yet again explain away poor choices people make:
Studies Question the Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity
By GINA KOLATA
Published: April 17, 2012
It has become an article of faith among some policy makers and advocates, including Michelle Obama, that poor urban neighborhoods are food deserts, bereft of fresh fruits and vegetables.
But two new studies have found something unexpected. Such neighborhoods not only have more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than more affluent ones, but more grocery stores, supermarkets and full-service restaurants, too. And there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children and adolescents.
Within a couple of miles of almost any urban neighborhood, “you can get basically any type of food,” said Roland Sturm of the RAND Corporation, lead author of one of the studies. “Maybe we should call it a food swamp rather than a desert,” he said.
Some experts say these new findings raise questions about the effectiveness of efforts to combat the obesity epidemic simply by improving access to healthy foods. Despite campaigns to get Americans to exercise more and eat healthier foods, obesity rates have not budged over the past decade, according to recently released federal data.
Studies Question the Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity
By GINA KOLATA
Published: April 17, 2012
It has become an article of faith among some policy makers and advocates, including Michelle Obama, that poor urban neighborhoods are food deserts, bereft of fresh fruits and vegetables.
But two new studies have found something unexpected. Such neighborhoods not only have more fast food restaurants and convenience stores than more affluent ones, but more grocery stores, supermarkets and full-service restaurants, too. And there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood and obesity among its children and adolescents.
Within a couple of miles of almost any urban neighborhood, “you can get basically any type of food,” said Roland Sturm of the RAND Corporation, lead author of one of the studies. “Maybe we should call it a food swamp rather than a desert,” he said.
Some experts say these new findings raise questions about the effectiveness of efforts to combat the obesity epidemic simply by improving access to healthy foods. Despite campaigns to get Americans to exercise more and eat healthier foods, obesity rates have not budged over the past decade, according to recently released federal data.
6
Good for him. I hope he inspires more people in the area to take some control of their lives and diet.
7
My grandfather had a very nice garden on north beacon hill, about 1/2 acre. Had plenty growing there. Corn, Apples, Japanese Applepears, cherries, grapes, peaches, pears, rhubarb, squash, beets, string beans, plus a dozen filber nut tree's that surrounded the property.
His most annoying problem, was keeping residents from raiding his garden. He would wake up in the middle of the night from people picking from his trees, often damaging the low branches to get to the high ones.
If you think a guerrilla garden will be a good thing for Seattle, you need only worry about the little things, like assholes neighbors who will pick what they want and damage things along the way. Put up a fence? People will just tear holes in the fences.
His most annoying problem, was keeping residents from raiding his garden. He would wake up in the middle of the night from people picking from his trees, often damaging the low branches to get to the high ones.
If you think a guerrilla garden will be a good thing for Seattle, you need only worry about the little things, like assholes neighbors who will pick what they want and damage things along the way. Put up a fence? People will just tear holes in the fences.
8
@4 That was my favorite line, too. Although, the "plus, you get strawberries" was a great little oratorical flourish.
9
@1 Your assumptions don't fit the reality of most urban areas. For that matter, they don't fit the reality of most suburban areas, either. (I haven't seen a condo agreement in a townhome community on the east coast that allows vegetable gardening yet.)
Upper-middle-class folk, from my experience, are more likely to dabble in flowers, or even more likely to have the landscaping company in weekly.
There are probably more vegetables grown in the tiny back yards of my little working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn than in my father's entire town on Long Island.
Upper-middle-class folk, from my experience, are more likely to dabble in flowers, or even more likely to have the landscaping company in weekly.
There are probably more vegetables grown in the tiny back yards of my little working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn than in my father's entire town on Long Island.
10
@7 - I think the point of guerilla gardening is so that people can have free access to the food it produces. It's just a matter of educating the community and making them aware of how to go about taking what they need so they don't cause damage. And if they do need the food, allowing people to help in the gardens maintenance. It sucks that people stole from your grandfather's garden, but this particular kind of garden can't be stolen from since there's nothing to steal.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Did You Steal Our Unpaid Intern's Camera? by Goldy
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
The Only Thing More Tragic than a Bridge Collapse Would Be a 10 Cent a Gallon Increase in the Gas Tax by Goldy
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
Star Trek Releases Deleted Scene of Benedict Cumberbatch Showering to Counter Claims of Sexism by Cienna Madrid
-
Boy Scouts Lift Ban on Gay Members by Paul Constant
-
Should I Buy One of These? by Goldy
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (10) RSS