Spring is upon us. This is the time of year that food producers and garden lovers begin to sow greenhouse seeds and plant spring transplants. Meanwhile, the lines at the grocery stores have been incredibly long, as people prepare for the COVID-19 virus to get worse. Within this context, I find it particularly important to recognize all the food producers in Northwest Philadelphia and Ambler who help build community food security for our region. 

I want to start by acknowledging the Weavers Way Farm Team as they begin to prepare for the new planting season at Saul and Awbury. I am grateful that our Co-op has had the foresight to include direct food production locally as an Ends activity. 

I also want to highlight the vast number of Northwest Philadelphia residents who otherwise support local food and farming efforts that help build community food security. W.B. Saul is the largest urban agriculture high school in the country, and one of the only such high schools. Hansberry Garden & Nature Center in Germantown spent years fundraising through flea markets to be able to purchase their garden space, and it continues to provide garden education and growing space to the nearby community. 

Germantown Kitchen Garden offers a weekly farm market for the community, as does Grumblethorpe as part of their youth programming. East Mount Airy residents have been fundraising and planning a new community garden at Pleasant Playground that will increase growing space opportunities. 

Awbury Community Garden and Penn and Greene Street gardens have been growing and donating thousands of pounds of food to neighbors in need for multiple decades while also mentoring new gardeners. There are numerous other pocket gardens doing the same, including Werners and Gabbies in East Mt. Airy and Garden R.U.N. in Roxborough. The Schuylkill Center is home to an enormous community garden and a number of producer-owned businesses growing locally on their land. In Ambler, Pennypack Farm Education Center supports community food security, as does the Weavers Way Farm through sales at the Ambler store.

Food Moxie feels enormous gratitude in having these many producer sites and growing space resources to point to in the region as our learners navigate graduating from our programs and looking for additional healthy produce resources locally. As Spring gets underway and we begin our next program module with participants, we at Food Moxie wish everyone a safe, healthy growing season ahead. And we thank the people who help build community food security for Philadelphia and the region for their work.