Fort Bragg Pursues Food Security with Victory Gardens
by Matt Drewno
Twenty-six percent of the children in Mendocino County experienced food insecurity in 2019. In that same year, one out of every four people in Fort Bragg utilized the food bank, and the Ukiah food bank reported a 23% increase in usage. Mendocino County has around 88,000 mouths to feed three times each day—that’s 264,000 meals daily! Locally, we struggle to make sure everyone has access to food, and the pandemic has only increased these challenges. You may be surprised to learn that only about 1-3% of the food grown in Mendocino County stays in Mendocino County. How will this pandemic and the economic hurdles to come impact our food security, and how can we, as individuals, become more resilient in these challenging times?
With COVID-19 shutting down the global and local economies—and with the beauty and vitality of spring in full bloom—what better time to start a garden! Gardens improve nutrition, ease depression, fortify immune systems, enhance education, reduce incidences of violence, and bring a sense of wholeness, peace, and beauty into our lives. They remind us that we are all connected and that a beautiful and abundant future lies right in our backyards.
Throughout history, during times of peace and war, gardening has kept us strong and nourished. During World War I and World War II, the United States government enacted a series of policies aimed at reducing our resource consumption while increasing production to meet the demands of war. Many of our farmers were sent overseas to fight, and our citizens and troops needed to be fed. “Victory Gardens” were promoted as a way to meet the demands of war and increase food security during times of scarcity, because there is no form of agriculture more direct, efficient, and sustainable.
This mass mobilization for the war efforts engaged all industries and communities. Trains and buses previously used for transporting food were shipped abroad to move soldiers, and so Victory Gardens became an important component of localization. Public parks were opened to community gardens, and people began growing food everywhere—on rooftops, window boxes, and backyards. School gardens sprang up to provide food for lunch programs, government agencies printed recipe booklets, and food preservation pamphlets encouraged people to eat less meat. Victory Gardens not only increased our food security during these times, but they also gave citizens a sense of pride in acting as a part of the solution. Gardening made them realize they could do something to help.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of today and the future will be achieving and maintaining peace, and it’s no coincidence that the current resurgence of the Victory Garden movement is about peace rather than war. What better way to create and celebrate peace than in the garden and sharing food with neighbors? The Victory Gardens for Peace Initiative is a project of Ecology Action, an organization that for the past 50 years has worked with individuals in over 150 countries, demonstrating the power of small scale sustainable gardening through the development of the Biointensive Method of Agriculture. The initiative is about reclaiming that part of ourselves that loves to work with nature, and to experience the nurturing of life which gives back and nourishes us.
To put our local food security in the light of the global outlook, The United Nations offers these three alarming figures: (1) by 2030, two-thirds of the global population will lack adequate water resources to grow food; (2) in 2050, there will be 10 billion people on the planet; and (3) in roughly 50 years, we will completely run out of soil. These stresses could result in the breakdown of systems both locally and globally, which provide for our most basic needs, including access to food and water.
Added to these worrisome predictions is the concern about the impacts of climate change. A recent study showed that Americans contribute between 4 and 8 tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year through diet alone. Harnessing the power to grow our own food means that we can keep that carbon where it belongs, in the ground!
Last year, Victory Gardens for Peace initiated a study which demonstrated that, within a few years, Fort Bragg could grow all of its calories for 7,000 people within its own city limits, on land that is already in lawns, and not including the toxic mill site. If we were to attempt to feed Fort Bragg locally with commercial farms, we would have to clear-cut a swath of forest one mile wide all the way to Willits, and this would require an additional 47-95 million gallons of water. Wouldn’t you rather grow a garden in your yard?
In 1943, when Victory Gardens were at their peak with over 20 million gardens, they produced 44% of the food consumed in the U.S. We believe this can be done again—it’s just a matter of being proactive and resilient rather than waiting until it is too late. The solutions of the future will be attainable solutions that do more with less, simplify the situation, and engage everyone in becoming stakeholders to create a stronger community. We can do it! ¡Sí se puede! Start a Victory Garden for Peace today!
Last year, Victory Gardens for Peace worked with Fort Bragg to pass the Garden Friendly Community Resolution declaring the importance of home and community gardening for community resilience. For information on how you can pass the Garden Friendly Community Resolution in your community, visit growbiointensive.org. You can also find out more at VictoryGardensForPeace.com.
Matt Drewno runs the Victory Gardens for Peace Initiative, a project of Ecology Action, a 501(c)(3) non-profit helping individuals worldwide empower themselves to grow healthy food while conserving resources and building soil.
