What Makes a Community Garden?

Community Garden at Unidad Park

The CDC defines a community garden as "collaborative projects on shared open spaces where participants share in the maintenance and products of the garden, including healthful and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, and engage in physical activity, skill building and creating green space." Community gardens are a beneficial addition to many communities as they help to increase access to fruits and vegetables and bring more green space to neighborhoods. By bringing people together to garden they help to strengthen and build community connections.

There are many different shapes and sizes of community gardens and they can be managed in many different ways depending on the desire of the community. Some examples include:

• Plot Gardens - divided into individual plots

• Cooperative Gardens - work as a team on one large garden

• Youth Gardens

In Los Angeles, there are over 90 community gardens, many are managed by the Los Angeles Community Garden Council and other non-profits that provide important coordination and support for gardeners. Due to our wonderful year-round gardening season, gardens here can grow food even in the winter. Yet so many more are needed, especially in some of the densest neighborhoods with the least amount of healthy food options. 
 
Here at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust we have all three. Whatever type, each is organized by our team, and is structured and managed by the gardeners themselves. The LANLT has developed 15 gardens in its 19 years of operation and currently manages eight.