Even before the pandemic and accompanying economic freefall, one in four Santa Barbara families struggled to put food on the table. With that figure certain to grow in the coming months and years, the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade has launched a new collaborative farming program called the Growing Community Project.
“We are in the midst of a food security crisis in the making,” said Brigade leader Abe Powell during the program’s groundbreaking at Trinity Gardens last week. “Our neighbors need our help.”
Building on the tradition of Victory Gardens planted during WWI and WWII to feed a hungry country taxed by war efforts, the Growing Community Project encourages home gardeners to cultivate and share fresh produce with residents in need. “Grow a little bit of extra squash, tomato, zucchini,” Powell asked. Volunteers will then pick up the overflow right off people’s front porches. “The time has come to go back to farming in this way.”
