People come together in a number of different ways to cultivate and consume locally grown produce. There are CSAs, where consumers buy shares of a farm's harvest, community gardens, where gardeners can rent an individual plot for growing whatever they want, and there is another type of gardening experiment taking place in Chicago, a communal effort to raise and share produce. At Ginkgo Organic Gardens on the North Side, volunteers grow fruits, vegetables and herbs and donate the harvest to a nearby food bank. Previously functioning as a more traditional community garden, where people rented a plot and raised their own food, this garden is now led by a steering committee that decides what will be grown in each bed, and the gardeners collaboratively tend the produce. The food bank provides input about the most popular products, and in response Ginkgo Organic Gardens cultivates different types of greens as well as classics like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, berries, and even a few fruit trees.

Greens are the most requested products by the food bank patrons. Photo: Rose Rankin

The land is owned by NeighborSpace, a nonprofit land trust that manages over 60 community gardens throughout the city. The approach used at Ginkgo is not applied to all their properties, and it isn't for all gardeners. Many people want to enjoy the (literal) fruits of their labor from community gardens, and other people are satisfied with the process at Ginkgo. Regardless of the particulars, stories like this show that urban agriculture is thriving in Chicago. The variety of approaches to community gardening is itself a positive sign because it gets more people involved in growing food in whichever way suits them best. It also proves that in a major city with millions of inhabitants, gardening can inspire people to work together for the common good. I was treated to a peek at this garden during the garden bloggers' Spring Fling last weekend. For more information about Ginkgo Organic Gardens, see ginkgogardens.org. — Rose Rankin