Appreciation post: The community garden in Portland that changed my lunch routine

I walked past this little community garden near my bus stop for like 6 months before I finally stopped to look. There's this one plot where a lady grows kale and chard and she lets people take a few leaves if they ask. Last week I grabbed some kale for my sandwich and realized I hadn't bought bagged lettuce in almost 10 days. It's not much but seeing food grow right there in the middle of the city makes me think about how we ship things from across the country when we could just plant stuff. The garden is maybe 30 feet by 20 feet and they grow enough to share with anyone who stops by. Has anyone else found a random garden or green space that changed how you think about food?

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2 Comments

kelly.robin22d ago

Hold on, let me just push back a little on this whole 'changed how you think about food' thing. Like yeah, picking some kale for a sandwich sounds nice and all, but is it really that deep? @hall.charles I get the shift in perspective part but I still buy bagged lettuce from the store because it's easier and I don't have to ask someone if I can take their leaves. I mean, the garden is cool and all, but it's not like it's solving the real problem of how we get food in this city, you know? It's a tiny plot and most people still rely on trucks and grocery stores.

hall.charles22d agoOG Member

Ngl I used to think community gardens were just for show but yeah this kinda thing totally shifts your perspective.