San Francisco Creating City Hall Victory Garden

To those who read both of my blogs, I apologize for the repetition, but for those who don't, I wanted to make sure you got this information.

The City of San Francisco is supporting the creation of a Victory Garden at City Hall. This is not surprising since San Franciscans have been promoters and developers of sustainable food systems for so long.

Now, they are creating a Victory Garden right in front of City Hall, calling the project The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden that will replace the lawn at City Hall. They have the full support of Mayor Gavin Newsom and it is designed and built by the Garden for the Environment’s Victory Garden 08+ Program, CMG Landscape Architecture and City Slicker Farms, using seeds donated from Seeds of Change and numerous individuals from around the country.

Here's the scoop from a Press Release I received: Beginning Tuesday, July 1, the lawn in front of San Francisco’s City Hall will undergo a transformation from grass carpet to edible garden, as dozens of Bay Area organizations join together to plant the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden. On Saturday, July 12, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Slow Food Nation founder Alice Waters and more than 100 volunteers will plant the first edible garden in the City’s Civic Center since 1943.

The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden is one more way to showcase the City’s tangible commitment to sustainability and, as in the past, confront some of the most challenging issues of our times,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “For many urban residents, access to healthy and nutritious food is as important now as it was during the Second World War.”

Slow Food Nation, the largest celebration of American food in history, takes place in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend (August 29 to September 1, 2008). The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden in the Civic Center will serve as a demonstration and education centerpiece leading up to and following the Labor Day weekend event, providing visitors the opportunity to learn about urban food production. Bounty from the garden will be donated to those with limited access to healthy, organic produce through a partnership with local food banks and meal programs.

The partnership idea that they are talking about is my ultimate goal with The Giving Gardeners and I would also love to do something similar here, have our own Victory Garden where we could help on an even bigger scale.

Please email me or comment if you would be interested in being involved in setting up a garden like this with me.