Food Not Lawns!

Potatoes! (Photo Credit: anneheathen)

The mission of Food Not Lawns is just what you’d think from its title—grow gardens instead of a useless beds of monocropped grass. The organization is actually about much more than that though. Perhaps most importantly, it’s about having communities come together with a common purpose to transform wasted lawn space into a productive food source for families and the local community.

The organization helps people get started in the local food movement by hosting events that allow neighbors to share tools, seeds, land and skills with each other. They also advocate for communities that want to have control over where their food comes from and be less reliant on industrialized farming.

Food Not Lawns is also becoming a more networked movement by having local chapters across the world. Like-minded individuals can come together in their local areas and create a network of change in order to bring fresh, local food and yardfarms to their city. You can take a look at the local chapters section of the website to see if there is one in your area, and if not you can even start your own!

One of the co-founders also wrote a book with the same title, Food Not Lawns, which describes how you can create a sustainable local community where you live. The book has practical knowledge to share on both farming (yards or larger lots) and urban gardening (if you have less space). It discusses the reasons behind the push to grow food instead lawns and offers tips on how to get your community involved. There are also ideas on projects like organizing shared meals or building garden play areas for children.

The community-oriented Food Not Lawns movement is a great place for a new yardfarmer to get started. Meet others who share your desire to bring food to yard spaces and get all of the help you need!

Front yard vegetable garden (Photo Credit: M. Dolly)