Our neighborhood of Inglewood is growing and changing, with many new people moving in to live alongside those who have been here for decades. Today’s Inglewood has a mix of people from different places, cultures and walks of life. We may not all be the same, but something we all have in common is our need to eat.

In our community it is hard to get affordable and healthy food. This is something we can work together to change. The Riverside Village Community Garden is an example of neighbors working together to create access to affordable, healthy food in our community.

Most of us are dependent on the supermarkets for our fresh foods. The supermarket can be hard to get to, and because their fresh foods are shipped to us from all around the world at high cost, it makes it really expensive to buy veggies, fruit and herbs. We don’t know exactly where or how this produce is grown or if it is safe for us to eat. Safe produce, called ‘organic’, means that the veggies, fruit and herbs were grown without chemicals that can harm us. Safe produce is hard to get to in Inglewood and costs even more. For most of us this means that the safe, fresh foods that are best for us are a luxury we can’t afford. We can change this!

Communities have been working together all around the country to grow their own veggies, fruit and herbs. By doing this, the communities are building their own food system, reducing their dependence on business to bring food in, and keeping produce affordable for people in the community. In the cities, these are known as ‘urban gardens’, and can be found in parks, communal land, private gardens, balconies and even rooftops.

The Riverside Village Community Garden is an urban garden in Inglewood, working as a model of a local, healthy community food system. The garden is based in the new ‘Riverside Village’ local business complex. The complex has a shared space out back, where people can eat and hang out. The garden forms part of this space, and is being developed and maintained by ordinary folks in our local community. These neighbors are learning how to grow food for themselves and for some of our local food outlets. We hope to grow enough produce for those who work in the garden to take home, as well as tomatoes and basil for Castrillo’s pizza shop, fresh mint for SIP, and some more unusual veggies for Mitchell’s Deli.

Come join us as and help us grow not just produce, but our community and its food security!