addressing the many issues faced by bangladeshi women 

the bangladeshi diaspora is the fastest-growing immigrant population in new york city. according to the asian american federation, it is estimated that 74% (48,985) of bangladeshis living in new york city were foreign-born, as of 2015, of which 53% were naturalized citizens.

being a non-u.s.-born immigrant comes with many limitations, such as language barriers, the inability to vote in federal elections or work governmental jobs, lack of legal protection and access to healthcare or quality housing, plus trouble finding employment and educational opportunities. being a woman can exacerbate these challenges. with little to no support, many bangladeshi women also are often left to deal with problems of intergenerational trauma, immigration, and colonization, coupled with the stress of poverty, depression, and cycles of abuse. 

new york city resident sahreen quadir, has noticed this toxic cycle throughout her life. quadir saw her mother struggle when moving to the u.s. reflecting on how her mother faced the same challenges that many bangladeshis experience, quadir said, “my mother was an immigrant to this country. i saw firsthand growing up what the lack of resources can do to someone’s livelihood and how it can affect their children.” 

quadir saw the degree to which women were underserved in her community and wanted to make a change. she now works for a nonprofit company in the bronx called, “laal.” in bangla, “laal” means “red,” and symbolizes many important attributes for bangladeshi women. bangladeshi women are famously known for cooking with red bhindi (a kind of okra), women wear a red saree on their wedding day, and the red sun on the center of the bangladesh flag symbolizes independence.

laal was founded by a bangladeshi woman, sanjana khan, and is the epitome of a “for women, led by women” organization. this nonprofit provides resources for women to live healthy and engaged lives. laal provides several programs to give bangladeshi women resources, including a community garden.

a healing garden

another member, shahela begum, founded the laal bhagan initiative, which is a community garden led by bangladeshi women in norwood, the bronx. laal bhagan means “red garden” in bangla. the initiative merges bangladeshi indigenous gardening practices and adapts them to an urban environment. it also promotes community building among bangladeshi women, while giving them space to grow essential foods, including fresh spinach, habanero peppers, parsley, bitter melon, squash, beans, and more.

the women are reclaiming traditional and indigenous agricultural practices from bangladesh. according to a survey conducted by laal, 71% of laal members have immigrated straight from rural bangladesh. many had never been to a major city in bangladesh like dhaka, sylhet, or chittagong. they come from villages where farming and growing their own food was a common practice, and immigrated straight to the bronx neighborhood in new york city.

through laal bhagan, they were taught new environmental concepts, such as sustainable gardening, composting, and how to pest control plants, while still being taken back to their roots. laal bhagan is especially important to have in the bronx, since the area has no public gardening space.  

laal bhagan was directly formed due to the epidemic of isolation and the mental health crisis that many women were experiencing, which was further exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic. but by participating in laal bhagan, many of these women have made great improvements to their lives through their connection to the soil. this connection also has a scientific basis, as contact with soil releases serotonin. according to a study by bristol university and university college london, contact with a soil bacteria called mycobacterium vaccae triggers the release of serotonin in our brains, and which can act as an antidepressant.

this isn’t just about growing food, it’s about creating a safe space for bangladeshi women. all vegetables grown at laal bhagan are authentically native to bangladesh. combining physical activity with social interaction and exposure to nature and sunlight is very beneficial to human health. all goods grown at laal bhagan will go into their laal ranna program, which is about preserving traditional bengali cooking methods and recipes. 

looking toward the future

when asked, “so, what’s next for laal?” quadir describes laal bhagan’s future and remarks that the garden is undergoing an assessment at the time. she is hoping to create a larger garden within their organization’s own space, anticipated to launch in summer 2023. laal also recently launched a health initiative program in 2022, the reproductive justice initiative in partnership with the midwifery clinic at north central bronx hospital.

this is the first curriculum in the united states that goes deeply into educating women about sexual and reproductive health in bangla. laal has been doing incredible work in trying to change lives, by giving these bangladeshi women the skills to improve their lives and well-being while leveling the playing field. big strides are being made by this nonprofit in the bronx. as sanjana khan, the founder of laal once said, “if we don’t, who will?”

freerksen has a garden in the backyard of her south shore neighborhood home in chicago where she plants herbs, fruits and over 10 different vegetables. she harvests corn, green beans, bell peppers, radishes, zucchini, rhubarb and more.

“i remember being very little and [my father] making holes with his finger in the ground and being like, ‘put a seed in each one of these holes.’ and i just thought it was cool because then it would become a plant that you can eat,” said freerksen. “every time i touch the earth to shape it into something pretty or edible, i definitely am connected to him.”

in the last decade, the demand for locally grown food has increased 260% in chicago, and three-fourths of americans report caring about having locally sourced food, according to the chicago metropolitan agency for planning.

fighting food insecurity with convenience, freshness, and health

according to the chicago community trust, about one in seven people in chicago face food insecurity.

freerksen said she only gardens during the spring, summer and into the fall, but doesn’t have a need to continue growing after harvest season, which ends by late november. 

but saving money with her garden is another bonus freerksen said she has experienced, with the production of her tomatoes and kale alone. she said she rarely visits grocery stores for produce as she was even able to produce 14 squashes this summer from a single plant.

locally growing produce is a strategy used by residents, urban farms and community gardens to combat food desert status in underserved neighborhoods across chicago, especially on the south and west sides. it also reassures people about the quality of their produce. in freerksen’s case, she gardens for the convenience of having readily available produce untouched by harmful chemicals like pesticides. 

“i also compost, and for my garden i knew i wasn’t going to use insecticides,” freerksen said. “i use neem oil, which is not harmful. the only fertilizer i use is dead leaves, so organic compost.” 

in her previous apartments, she always had a small windowsill herb garden, so when she bought her house a little over a year ago, she was excited to plant a large garden, she said. 

like freerksen, keith tody, who lives in the edgewater neighborhood on the north side of chicago, said he does not live in a food insecure area, but he too grows produce outside his apartment, where he has two raised plant beds in his small backyard. he has found ways to extend his growing season into the winter. he said his motivation is ensuring he is consuming fresh and healthy foods, especially as he does not often eat meat.  

he usually grows spinach, different types of lettuce, kale, garlic, tomatoes and more in summer and fall. 

“i decided what to plant (by) basically just googling what’s super easy to grow,” tody said. “when there’s big e. coli recalls on stuff like lettuce … i just try to avoid those big supply chain problems by keeping it local and independent.”

during winter, he plants winter-hardy plants like kale and carrots in raised plant beds. 

in addition to concerns with the quality of produce, another big impetus for locally grown produce is food apartheid, also known as the food desert problem: where residents only have close access to corner liquor stores, gas stations, retail locations or small grocery stores for food, but not to supermarkets with a wide selections of fresh produce. 

cultivating healthy foods across chicago

one solution is urban farming beyond the backyard. star farm is a year-round urban farm operating in the south side’s back of the yards neighborhood and is increasing food access in the community. it creates safe spaces for women and children to learn about sustainable foods, and has a volunteer program where people with disabilities can help package produce for sale. 

through the community supported agriculture (csa) program, a weekly (sometimes biweekly) food subscription service, they serve local residents, including senior citizens who are unable to travel for groceries. they also partner with other local organic farms to boost the local economy. 

with winter underway, star farm is centering on growing vegetables like tomatoes, onions and zucchini to ship to the csa members, according to communications manager and farmer mira cameron. 

the farm has additional strategies like growing microgreens as well as broccoli, cabbage and turnips on the main site, an apartment, and in a greenhouse predominantly used in winter. during winter months, they will continue to do pop-up markets, distribute to local hospitals and sell produce at several indoor markets even outside of back of the yards, like in wicker park and lincoln park.

“because we’re able to sell directly to the consumers so often, we’re able to sell them organic local produce for a relatively low price compared to what you would find at a store,” cameron said. 

another smaller and family-run urban farm is cedillo’s produce in the englewood neighborhood, which focuses on providing organic food to people of color through farmers markets in its south side neighborhoods and those on the west side, like little village. the farm operates a csa program and provides leafy greens in the spring and fall, then fruit crops in the summer, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants and more. 

co-founder dulce morales said that while the farm doesn’t have a greenhouse, it has a large hoop house — an uninsulated sheltered space — and she covers some plants with low tunnels made of plastic tube arches encased by a plastic sheet, to protect crops that thrive in winter, like spinach and lettuce. 

morales said it is beneficial for people’s health to eat organically, avoiding exposure to pesticides and fertilizers.  

“knowing that your food is being harvested the day of … that it didn’t have to travel in refrigeration for a whole week before it comes to your plate, all those things are big factors for people to get the most nutrients,” morales said. 

a communal effort

community gardens are another very common way of tackling food insecurity. the urban growers collective (ugc) supports access to fresh foods by growing abundant produce year-round in two south side community gardens — located in schafer park and jackson park — and eight urban farms predominantly on the south side. the organization also provides community members with job training and workshops on growing food.

laurell sims, co-ceo of the organization, said it is very important to hire local residents to work in the urban farm communities and keep a consistent program going without fully relying on volunteers.

“there’s really low food access, in particularly [disinvested] black and brown communities [of] chicago, so predominantly on the south side, but also on the west side,” sims said. “when you’re really having to choose between paying rent or your heat, or our high quality produce, produce is going to be the last thing on your list.”

ugc’s produce is only available through farmers markets, their fresh moves mobile market bus, and their collective supported agriculture program.

the fresh moves mobile market — which has produce and pantry items like beans and pasta — is a chicago transit authority bus converted into a farmers market used to target areas with higher need of fresh groceries, to shorten the food gap in chicago. the market is run by ugc farmers and the bus route is posted on its instagram, which you can follow for updates. the bus has a $10 voucher for first-time shoppers, and distributed $169,000 worth of free food to people in need, sims said.

“[urban gardening] gives folks a place to be able to grow their own and to have food autonomy, and includes beauty in the city,” sims said. “i think it’s really helped to foster a better living environment for the folks living in chicago.”

“without the spiciness, the tomato doesn’t really have flavor, so they combine really well,” said balcazar, in spanish, according to sergio ruiz, one of the garden’s organizers. 

run by the little village environmental justice organization (lvejo), the community garden doubled its typical production during a slow, pandemic summer last year, indicating a local affinity for gardening.

“this just means that they love growing, they love harvesting, and they need access to the land,” said edith tovar, lvejo’s just transition community organizer. 

those not tending to their garden beds gathered around long tables under the central pavilion, chatting and playing mexican bingo. 

“we come here to destress. it’s therapeutic to weed and be with nature,” said little village resident gloria jimenez in spanish, according to ruiz.

as the covid-19 pandemic increased the nationwide prevalence of common mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, and chicagoans turned to community gardening to counteract the symptoms. 

common mental health conditions during covid-19

studies conducted across the nation over the last year show an overall decline in mental health due to the pandemic’s restrictions. 

one in three people experienced psychological distress during the pandemic according to a study released this august led by elvira solji and a group of researchers in australia. 

solji and her team focused on the age-related differences in mental health impacts of covid-19 lockdown restrictions. they surveyed americans from april 20 to june 8, 2020, asking questions about nervousness, anxiety, depression, loneliness and more to gauge participants’ experiences of moderate mental distress. 

the study found that over half of 18- to 24-year-olds reported experiencing moderate mental distress, and that adults up to 44-years-old were most heavily impacted. 

in younger adults, moderate mental distress was associated with restrictions to public transit, restaurants, and international travel, while working from home lowered distress rates. moderate distress in older adults was related to the ban on gatherings of over 50 people and workplace closures. 

“the results imply that different approaches are needed both in the handling of mental health and restrictions for different age groups,” solji said in an email. 

insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety were the top four mental health conditions seen during the pandemic according to a study released in november. this conclusion resulted from the meta-analysis of 55 peer-reviewed journals conducted by the research team. 

a study conducted march to april 2020 also identified an increase in acute stress and depressive symptoms in the united states, and found that people with preexisting mental and physical health diagnoses experienced these symptoms more than those without.  

bronzeville-based psychologist lasonda a. wilkins-hines made similar observations of the chicagoans she treated. wilkins-hines said she most often diagnosed patients with clinical anxiety and clinical depression. she held appointments via telehealth and did not take on new patients during the pandemic. 

wilkins-hines, whose patients are predominantly african american, said she saw anxiety and depression peaked with the police brutality protests last summer. 

“that’s when things really made a heavy turn in my practice,” wilkins-hines said. “what i was seeing was a lot of people feeling uncertain, unsafe, confused, angry, feeling that hopelessness and helplessness.”

gardens that blossomed

community gardens across the city reported increased participation during the last two summers. 

sarah dugan, program facilitator for the city’s community gardens in the parks program, said in an email, “anecdotally, there was a big increase in inquiries for garden plots during spring and summer 2020, which seems to have tapered off to more typical levels this year.”

prior to last summer, the maxwell street garden in the near west side typically had a waitlist of five people, according to tess kearns, a board member and gardener there. 

“last year, we had a waitlist of 30 people and we had 15 plots available,” kearns said. apartments in the area with pool decks or community outdoor space closed those amenities last summer to prevent the spread of covid-19, she said. 

“there were a lot of people who didn’t get plots, but were desperate for the ability to be outdoors,” kearns said. “this year, our waiting list was 47 people.” 

to manage the increased interest, kearns said they adopted a friends of the garden program during the pandemic to invite volunteers to work on the community plots and take home some produce in return.   

the maxwell street garden became a place for participants to “clear their heads,” kearns said. “a lot of the stories [from last summer] revolve around just wanting to be outside after the mayor shut the lakefront down. last year was really hard.” 

mayor lori e. lightfoot closed chicago’s lakefront beaches from labor day weekend of 2019 through memorial day weekend of 2021 to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, according to a press release. the lakefront trail opened for exercise and transit with limited access and strict oversight june 2020; the status of the riverwalk and 606 was similar, according to block club chicago and nbc chicago articles. 

“we were like, ‘we’re going to the garden because it’s the one place you know you can be safe,’” kearns said. 

at the el paseo garden in pilsen, volunteer coordinator paula acevedo said they increased programming in response to “a spike in attendance.” 

“the space has been well-used during the pandemic,” acevedo said. “a lot of people were really dedicated to the garden. … people were saying the space kept them sane.” 

“it takes a village. it’s beautiful to be that conduit and platform for the community,” she said. 

health benefits of spending time in nature

a growing body of research illustrates the positive impact of spending time in nature on mental health. 

a study released january 2020 identified that spending two hours in nature per week created significant health benefits across age, gender, and geographic differences. the study broadly defined nature and emphasized that the two hours was a cumulative tally.

richard louv coined the term “nature-deficit disorder” in 2005 and has since authored several books on the health benefits of nature. 

“any green space will provide benefit to mental and physical wellbeing, so it mainly depends on individual preference,” louv said in an email. “more importantly is the frequency of those experiences. connection to nature should be an everyday occurrence.”

a 2017 study offered a list of the top impacts of spending time in nature based on an extensive review of existing research: reduced stress, better sleep, reduced depression and anxiety, greater happiness, and reduced aggression. 

different nature-based activities can impact the body in various ways. wilkins-hines shares her nature-based advice with patients based on the mental disorders being treated. in her practice, she focuses on clinical anxiety and depression, stress reduction and relaxation, and reiki, where she said she “manipulates energy to foster healing.”  

for patients with depression, “the [activities] that are most impactful are ones where you’re getting the sun because that’s going to improve your mood,” wilkins-hines said. she said the sun provides vitamin d that boosts serotonin, the “happy hormone.” 

“if you’re feeling suicidal and you’re feeling like you don’t belong, i encourage grounding techniques: to walk barefoot, to plant flowers, to plant vegetables – anything where you’re in the dirt and you’re bringing life to something,” wilkins-hines said. “you cannot change your way of thinking about the beauty of life [in a better way than] watching something grow into something, being responsible for the life of something.”

wilkins-hines said the impact of gardening extends beyond a specific physiological response in the body. 

“i think these community gardens afford people that opportunity to come together and share stories and to build interpersonal relationships, to network and to just give a sense of family, give a sense of connectedness. and all of that is beneficial for mental health,” wilkins-hines said.

the impact of nature and gardening on mental health has been known to many for years and prior to the pandemic.

kearns said she started to garden around the time she and her husband began the process of separation. 

“this is my happy place,” kearns said. “this was the place that i could just go and kind of forget about it. … i feel like it’s nourishment for your soul.”  

gardening can also help seniors and veterans, according to acevedo, who said seniors are el paseo garden’s largest demographic. 

while the pandemic may have intensified certain health conditions for seniors, acevedo said gardening helped their exercise, mental health and, for those who spent time gardening in earlier years, memory loss. 

acevedo also said the garden helped seniors feel less isolated, something the pandemic exacerbated.

“even their own families were afraid to go see them. they didn’t see their children and grandkids,” acevedo said. the garden added most of its new programming to benefit seniors, she said. 

acevedo said an afghanistan war veteran joined the garden from naperville, a 40-minute drive away, to volunteer his construction skills. 

“he said, ‘i’m on disability. i don’t work. i need to keep busy, or i’ll lose my mind,’” acevedo said. 

kearns said she thinks younger people have an easier time talking about mental health than older people. “everybody may be just as anxious, but nobody’s talking about it,” she said.  

louv advocates for children and families to spend more time in nature through his nonprofit organization, children nature network, to benefit all aspects of health within and beyond the context of the pandemic. 

“ironically, the coronavirus pandemic, as tragic as it is, has dramatically increased public awareness of the deep human need for nature connection –– and is adding greater sense of urgency to the movement to connect children, families and communities to nature,” louv said. 

“today, nature connection can be one way to heal psychological trauma of the pandemic. not a panacea, but one way,” he said.

borque is president of the jardin communautaire basile-patenaude, a community garden committee which has pioneered a new wave of garden and urban farming projects in the rosemont-la petite-patrie neighborhood of montreal. a number of local residents have taken over the neighborhood’s vacant lots and hidden crevices to creatively congeal eco-friendly and urban living––resulting in the so-called “edible alleyway.” according to borque, the community garden team started the edible alleyway project in 2015 as part of a land rehabilitation project, which utilized a 20,000 square foot vacant lot.

the lane has grown to accommodate a neighborhood chicken coop, over 100 fruit trees, a mushroom garden, and fences plastered with local art. in the alleyway, members of the community interact with nature and harvest fresh produce free of charge, alleviating food insecurity in the area.

rosemont-la petite-patrie is a densely populated neighborhood northeast of downtown montreal, a multi-cultural and vibrant side of the city beginning to take on a new identity. the trendy and growing neighborhood was once a maze of concrete alleyways solely defined by nearby famed attractions, like the jean-talon market or the olympic village. with community projects like the edible alleyway, rosemont-la-petite-patrie is making a new name for itself by growing greener.

the garden committee wanted to revitalize the space for the neighborhood, so they brainstormed projects to beautify the area. they conceived of the alley, separate from the community gardens, as a place where anyone, from any part of the city, can come and walk through.

“the place is both a place of passage and a place of relaxation,” bourque said. “some people take it just as a shortcut while other residents of the neighborhood frequent it. the henhouse is a very popular stopover for families… fruit trees are very popular in the harvest season and we often see people with bowls scooping fruit at the end of summer.”

the transformed space is a point of pride for locals, who clean the space and care about how it looks. it has provided a place for community bonding and understanding. 

“the fact that people from different backgrounds or social classes meet there allows a dialogue that would probably not take place otherwise,” borque said.

green space is vital to urban areas as it provides invaluable physical and mental health benefits to residents with access. yet, these essential spaces can disappear from cities as increased urbanization takes place. it is difficult to quantify how fast green space is sacrificed to urbanization due to a lack of research, but the effects can be felt tangibly. 

in a 2020 article in the journal land, researchers johan colding, Åsa gren and stephan barthel note that the reasons for the loss of green space need to be studied further. yet, one reason for shrinking public land is increased privatization of green areas. according to the article, green space provides “invaluable ecosystem services to humans that are important to plan for in cities.” for example, green space helps absorb carbon dioxide, thus helping to improve air quality, reduce heat and offset a city’s carbon emissions. however, the researchers found “economic motives and urban neoliberal policies are liable explanations behind the loss of public space in many cities.”

borque has noticed a loss of public space happening in his own city. “the original design of towns included public passageways, while in most new projects, these passages are now private,” borque said. “it isolates people––since no common place exists anymore.”

yet, the jardin communautaire basile-patenaude have made a difference in montreal by creating an open space for residents to wander and gather. 

“the idea of ​​focused concrete cities no longer makes sense,” borque said. “the garden and these kind of community projects are an image of this new way of seeing the city. people need to live in their neighborhood and to feel good about it.”

this story is a short compilation of excerpts from presley’s journal during the 1980’s that piece together the harsh reality of living in a food desert in the northern adirondacks of new york. her words uncover the strong connection between a low-income and the chances at a nutritious meal, as she continuously compares her refrigerator to charlotte’s, her affluent best friend.

though this is a fictional story, it is based off of real life circumstances, as many areas in the northern adirondacks remain a classified food desert, which is an area where low-income and marginalized residents struggle to obtain healthy and nutritious food. this can be due to factors such as not owning a car, the lack of existing grocery stores, and poor quality of the fruits and vegetables that are available.

in her journal, she quickly discovers the benefits of a system based in csa. from facilitating a connection with the food you find on your plate and strengthening community ties, all the way to nurturing the earth and decreasing the distance and time between the farm to the table. her persistence and dedication to the mission of feeding the community serves as an inspiration and shines a light on the present-day need to continue moving forward and growing the csa movement.

***

march 3, 1984


the winters here are long and heavy, and by march they feel just about endless. our bodies are tired, deficient of vitamins and minerals, because there is no sun to be seen here in the mountains for months, and my mom’s dinner plates typically lack any color at all. here in the north country, frozen cuisines are accepted as okay and “if it gets the job done, that's good enough.” or at least thats my dad’s mantra. i can't seem to accept it though.

my best friend charlotte lives about 45 minutes away, just one town over. but, whenever i make the trip out to visit her, i feel like i’m on another planet. there's a health food store, and it seems like there is a farmers market perfectly situated on every corner. charlotte's mom makes the most delicious and fulfilling dinners. the plate is always made with just the right amount of color. the darkest collard greens to the brightest, most perfectly ripened tomatoes. after we eat, i feel so energized, it's almost as if i can hear my own body whispering to me, “thank you.”

charlotte doesn't know this, but secretly, i try to plan our hang-outs around meal-times. i feel as if i’m being resourceful. sometimes i sleepover at charlotte's for the entire weekend. this always leaves my mom wondering. rightfully so-- my mom asks me why charlotte never comes to our house, or if i am too embarrassed. honestly, i am. i am afraid we won’t have anything to eat.

it's hard for my parents, they're always working extra shifts, and sometimes the grocery store closes before they get home from work, and since its over seven miles away i can't walk. or when we do get there, the only thing they seem to have is wrapped in plastic or has been trapped in a can for years.

winter is coming to an end soon, and the iga has two rows of cereal, half of them are already expired. the fruit is moldy and the vegetables have been picked way too early. everything seems to be working against my family and a meal filled with nutrition. i can’t seem to understand the unfathomable difference between my refrigerator and charlotte’s.


march 7, 1984


i dream a lot. the journal next to my bed is filled with many of them. i like reading them months later and trying to pick apart the meanings. about half of them are abstract, filled with forest fairies, and the other half are filled with characters from my reality. once, i dreamt of a planet returned to its state before humans of greed and desire took from her. in another dream, my family and i ate the freshest salad with the crispiest pears. my mom naturally dressed the salad with juicy oranges and the spiciest red peppers. my journal after this dream read “how did that food get there? how can that food get here?”

then, i had an idea.


march 17, 1984


in my town we don't have a fancy health food store, but we do have land. we have fertile soil, and a solid rain cycle. and although the winters here are long, i know there are plants that can thrive seasonally. winters can be home to root vegetables and strong leafy greens, like kale and spinach. i want to switch my focus and provide for my family and my community. to the people that work the hardest and receive the least. to the people that deserve nutritious fuel for their bodies and a stronger connection with the earth.

i told my parents about my dreams and the ideas that followed, and to say the least, they looked at me funny. like it was some unfeasible idea that could never be. as if accessible healthy food must remain a luxury. once again, something i will not accept.

so i set out, and i started reading books like “four season harvest” by eliot coleman, where i learned about the possibilities of farming beyond the summer months and discovered new techniques and strategies for growing. i also began visiting farms beyond my town borders. while visiting, i would observe, listen, and ask probably way too many questions, but i don't care because i am determined, and definitely onto something.


march 25, 1984


i finally feel ready to turn this dream into a reality. to be able to provide nutritious, affordable, and accessible food to my community has become my mission. today i went out for a walk, a very long walk. i knocked on the doors of my neighbors and i began to tell them about my idea, and if they wanted to be a part of it. i tried to explain to them the best that i could, how important it is for them to eat from the earth, an idea that believe it or not, seemed very abstract for many.

but it wasn't all doom and gloom and misunderstandings. i got 7 people all from my neighborhood to sign up for a share of my growing this season. since i need money upfront to buy tools, seeds, and soils, you know the whole 9 yards, i requested a donation. for the most part, all 7 people that signed up are really excited and offered me more than i expected. i guess this has been a long time coming.



march 30, 1984


seeds are in, here's to change and to more color on our plates.

the night after the murder, a vigil was held at the site. scenobia taylor, an african-american elder, received a vision from god which inspired her to donate 5 acres of her land so that the community may heal. she gave it to the cedar grove united methodist church, of which a majority of its congregants are white — a move that angered some but laid the groundwork for a place of reconciliation.

at the same time, pastor grace hackney of cgumc was attempting to address food insecurity in the community. when mrs. taylor approached her with the offer of land, she recognized that this was an opportunity to create a place that could provide both food and friendship. 

according to the u.s. census bureau, from 2000-2011, the city of knoxville, tennessee grew 3.09%, a growth rate that knocked it into second place for fastest growing in the state, right behind nashville. the increase in population came with an increase in employment opportunities, but johnson saw that the city’s problems were far from over.   

“you have skill sets that people need before they can get jobs,” johnson said. he added that the high school dropout rate in the four major high schools in the inner city is about 20%. with those kinds of numbers, he says, the outlook isn’t good.

then, there are people living in old housing stock built in the early 20th century, complete with poor insulation and even lead-based paint in some cases. johnson says it’s all most people in the area can afford, but their utility bills cost around 20-40% of their disposable income.

“none of their houses were properly insulated,” johnson said. “that was the cause of a lot of wasted energy and, of course, a lot of high utility bills.”

finding solutions

this is when johnson put two-and-two together. he realized that knoxville needed to be more sustainable, not only for the environment’s sake, but for the residents.

“if we cut back on our energy consumption that means we have to burn less fossil fuels to get the energy to the people,” johnson said.

people like pearl paige, who works at a local nursing home and lived in her home for 23 years before seeed helped her get it weatherized, would have toughed it out in extreme weather or paid pricey utility bills.

“if it wasn’t for that program, my house would probably be really cold right now,” paige said. “it’s saving me money on my utilities.”

the contractors that worked with knoxville’s community action committee renovated the ductwork and insulation and patched up holes in paige’s walls, as well as installed a brand new a/c unit. paige was one of the lucky people who qualified for one of 1,300 free home weatherizations provided by knoxville extreme energy makeover.

a study by the u.s. department of energy of the weatherization assistance program found that weatherization saved households around 12% in energy costs. this savings can make a difference for the 25.7% of people in knoxville living below the poverty line.

the neighborhood where paige lives is a tight-knit community, one where three months worth of renovations attracts interest and questions. paige took advantage of that interest to try to help out her neighbors and get them to seeed’s workshops and events that focus on simple energy saving techniques.

“i’ll stop and talk to my neighbors,” she said. “because what they did to my house, it wasn’t anything more than a blessing from the lord.”

paige admitted that at times it was difficult to get people to come to the workshops. people sometimes had been working all day, but she felt that seeed could help so many people that she had to keep spreading the word.

the people who paige sent to the program also had a chance to escape the food desert using the community garden and healthy food preparation classes. over 52 fruit trees and plants are growing in the garden and the program encourages people to grow their own crops when they can.

sustainable jobs for sustainable energy

as for the young people who help make the the energy saving possible, they are getting the basic skills needed for jobs after they graduate seeed’s career readiness program.

former students kasey williams and kaija guydon said in a video testimony that seeed helped them develop their communication skills. they informed the community about the program through canvassing campaigns.

“when i started seeed, i was homeless.” williams said. “once i got out of seeed, i had my own place.”

seeed also partners with contractors to give young people jobs helping to weatherize homes like pearl paige’s, so that jobs are created right in the community that way the residents do not have to rely on inconvenient public transportation to get to jobs on the other side of the city.

maddie stevens, a student at the university of tennessee who volunteered at seeed for martin luther king day of service last year, was surprised that a city like knoxville faced these problems.

“it’s crazy to think that somewhere i call my home, i didn’t even know these simple things that affect so many people in our community,” stevens said.

a community supported fishery functions by the same principles as the popular community supported agriculture programs: customers sign up in a membership system and receive regular shares of fresh seafood caught and processed on-site by local fishermen who distribute the product at community drop-off points. with its emphasis on providing direct access to sustainably harvested fish, the concept has grown from a single 2007 pilot program in maine to nearly 50 operations across the united states.

the burgeoning movement seeks to address serious problems within the current fishing industry.

of the approximately 5 billion tons of seafood consumed per year in the u.s., as much as 90% is imported according to noaa’s fishwatch. a portion of those imports actually complete the full carbon-intensive round trip of globalization. the fish fingers and salmon fillets in restaurant chains, for example, are likely to have been harvested in fishing grounds off the west coast, shipped to asia for cheap processing, and reimported to u.s. supermarket shelves.

this disconnected commodity market contributes to a host of issues that include an increased carbon footprint, illegal fishing, and food safety issues. oceana, an international nonprofit focused solely on oceans, reported in september that their investigation found up to a third of seafood sold in the u.s. is mislabeled or fraudulent. destructive trawling practices and overfishing also increase under this system, as fishermen in a highly competitive, low-price market are forced to target large quantities of only the most popular species. in a csf, on the other hand, customers get to develop a direct relationship with the source of their marine food.

“we have 100% traceability,” said aaron longton, a commercial fisherman of 18 years and the ceo of the port orford sustainable seafood csf in oregon. “when you buy seafood from us, you know what boat landed it, and when and where, and what fishing method they were using. we’re all hook-and-line, which is better for the base of fish, which is also better for resilience in the face of climate change.”

community supported fisheries function off a business model called the triple-bottom line, which takes into account the concepts of economy, ecology, and equity. in other words, a company that follows the triple-bottom line bases its decisions on promoting a strong economy, supporting the social frameworks of its community, and preserving natural resources and ecosystems.

a case-in-point is the community of port orford, whose fishermen were early leaders in the csf movement and also established one of the first marine reserves in oregon, a sanctuary for the rockfish that have supported the town’s economy for decades.

fishermen conservationists: the port orford csf

perched on the edge of the pacific, port orford — pop. 1,100 — is the westernmost and oldest coastal settlement in oregon and a traditional fishing community. but when longton first arrived there in 1999, the town was facing plummeting groundfish stocks and a salmon population crisis. in response, oregon’s state government and other non-governmental marine organizations were pushing regulations to close off traditional fishing grounds across the coast for conservation purposes.

“our fishing opportunities and ability to make a living was eroding at such a rapid rate,” longton said. “we joined up because we wanted to have local input on our future.”

partnering with four other commercial fishermen, longton joined the port orford ocean resources team a small startup non-profit dedicated to crafting community-led solutions to the port’s problems. leesa cobb, who has been heading the team as director for the past 14 years, is a fisherman’s wife and longtime advocate for fishing issues.

“we’re really looking at taking innovative ideas that we either come up with or learn from our colleagues around the country and applying it here,” cobb said. “the marine reserve is a good example of that.”

following the triple-bottom line concept, the team asked the state and ngo’s to allow the port orford community to craft its own reserve proposal in collaboration with scientists and local citizens. high resolution and gis mapping were employed to find out where a protected area would be ecologically effective and have the most minimal impact on fishing activities. the team also ran a large social outreach and education campaign on marine reserves, facing resistance from community members in the process.

“it’s extremely difficult working with fishermen. they’re very individualistic,” cobb said. “and when you talk to people about doing something different in their businesses practice, whether it’s conservation based or anything, they tend to get a little defensive.”

while a protected area would ultimately help ensure the ecological survival of the fish stocks, it also involved an immediate income loss for a community that had already been hit hard by timber conservation efforts. so in 2009, the team decided to start a new initiative to market their member fishermen’s products directly to customers — and the port orford csf was born.

“it had been 30 years since you could buy port orford fish in port orford. anything that was sold here was sold to corporate interests and left in a truck,” longton said. “there was no multiplier effect and no access. it was like a seafood desert in a fishing town just because of the way the system was designed.”

the revolutionary approach changed the economics of the entire fishing port. by doing their own processing, delivery, and marketing of premium-quality seafood, the csf was able to cut the middleman costs and pay their fishermen more for every pound of fish, in turn pushing the larger corporate buyers to up their game. all the fishermen in the port, even those not affiliated with the csf, are benefiting from the increased competition, according to longton.

“seven years ago these fish were being purchased for 50 cents a pound and i imagine it could have been the same now had we not been there. we went to 80 cents and we got matched, then we went to a dollar and we got matched… we’re about a $1.50 now,” longton said.

from the occasional farmers market and local co-op sales, the csf now serves 350 members in other nearby coastal cities such as bandon and coos bay, as well as larger inland markets along the i-5 corridor. a testimony to the success of the triple bottom line concept, port orford’s reserve remains the only one out of nine marine reserves implemented in oregon that was planned, sited, and proposed by local fishermen, rather than large ngos.

this reserve, named redfish rocks after the vermillion sub-species of rockfish that dwell in the area, is being managed by a community stakeholder team that handles education initiatives and research. tom calvanese, one of the scientists working on the team, called the reserve a “living laboratory.”

“we already have evidence that says that a marine protected area is better equipped to deal with things like ocean acidification and global warming because the population there is more diverse, more resilient, and healthier,” calvanese said. “but you can’t just fence it off and walk away.”

his current work involves studying fish movement patterns and biodiversity at the redfish rocks reserve, so that future protected areas can be designed to have the maximum positive impact on ecology and fish stocks. in true port orford style, this research will in turn benefit the fishermen’s understanding of their marine resources and management of the fishery.

cs fishery in garibaldi

nearly 200 miles north up the oregon coast, in the port of garibaldi, fishermen jeff wong has taken a different tack on sustainable seafood. the cs fishery incorporates direct restaurant sales and wholesale channels as well as the traditional share system. according to wong, this allows him to quickly distribute the larger hauls that fishing boats often bring in.

cs fishery in garibaldi operates nearly waste-free, reusing fishing byproducts as bait and selling the rest to local farms for compost. with a creative business approach and a focus on social change and education, wong compares his csf to a “tech startup.”

“we’re trying to do things that not only benefit us locally but also raise awareness of bigger issues,” wong said.

one example is the fishery’s upcoming sustainable canned tuna brand for which a percentage of the profits will go to prevent human trafficking and slavery in the thailand seafood industry. wong also leads tours of the west coast oyster industry for his csf customers on which he speaks about the negative effects of warmer waters and ocean acidification on shellfish.

the fishery is also using its mutual relationships with restaurants to promote lesser known species and catch-of-the-day to food aficionados in the metropolitan portland area.

“we have chefs that are kind of able to pivot on the fly,” wong said. “they are able to utilize these products to create a trend and a demand, which are two important aspects to get people to eat underutilized species.”

currently, wong is campaigning for restaurants to serve large quahog and gaper clams — which are being shipped to canada as bait — instead of the small and popular but severely depleted manilla clam. cs fishery’s fishing fleet also is targeting abundant west coast octopus stocks in a bid to replace imported octopus products from spain.

working with larger food providers like restaurants is one way of increasing the reach of traditionally small scale csf’s, but challenges still remain in scaling up the model.

“the reality is a lot of the seafood that is eaten isn’t consumed by the individual consumer that participates in a community supported fishery, ” said niaz dorry, director of the northwest atlantic marine alliance which helped found the csf movement.

however, according to dorry, that may be beside the point. the growth of the csf nationwide has sensitized consumers who were only concerned about land food issues to the overarching problems of the marine industry and empowered fishermen to become more active players in shaping fishing policies, she said.

indeed, whether it is through triple-bottom line management in port orford or social outreach initiatives in garibaldi, these fisheries are changing the idea of seafood as merely a resource to be extracted and consumed.

it is this vision that may prove crucial as climate change looms on the horizon, with outbreaks of toxic algae already threatening the crabbing industry on the west coast and warmer waters disrupting traditional fish movements.

by acknowledging that valuing human livelihoods means valuing the ecosystems that support them, the csf model may hold the key to enabling fishing communities to survive and thrive in this challenging environment.

if you are interested in learning more about csfs or joining a csf near you, see localcatch.org.