Food is Free! There Should be Community Projects Like This Everywhere

In a little rural town, tucked away in the northeast corner of Victoria, Australia, the local police station’s lawn has been transformed into a thriving vegetable garden.

A few years ago, a community group decided they wanted to improve education about, and access to, fresh, healthy food. They received funding from Sustainable Gardening Australia, and the local coppers kindly donated their lawn for the project. Soon after, the Yea Community Garden sprung up and has been lovingly tended by volunteers ever since.

Produce from the garden is left at a couple of venues in town – the library foyer and a local café – under signs saying ‘Food is Free!’. People are welcome to take what they need, they don’t have to pay a cent, but can leave a small donation to support the garden if they can afford it. The volunteers who work in the garden also get some of the produce as thanks for their efforts.

Food and garden scraps are collected from local businesses and residences, then composted to feed the garden, helping to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.

The community group also runs free workshops, which teach people how to start their own food gardens and how to make nutritious, mouthwatering meals using the harvest.

The Yea Community Garden gives people who need it access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs, as well as the knowledge to grow their own if they want to, which make an enormous difference to the lives and health of the underprivileged (especially in Australia where good-quality organic produce is generally quite expensive).

This is such a simple project that can easily be replicated. All it takes is a small amount of funding to get started, a little bit of space for a garden, and some willing volunteers.

How would you feel about a project like this in your area? Do you already have one? Do you think you could start one?