"This is food security for us": How community gardens are persisting through the pandemic

Alexandra Jones knew that this growing season was going to be different when the leaders of her West Philadelphia community garden held their annual membership meeting via Zoom. All across the country, community gardens — which provide important access to green space and fresh produce in many urban areas —are having to adapt as increased social distancing and isolation become the new normal. On March 24, the Chicago Community Gardeners Association published a blog post titled, "Guidelines for Chicago's Community Gardeners Amidst COVID-19." Another important mission of Hermitage Community Gardens, according to Pugh, is to provide at-risk and vulnerable youth with a "hyperlocal" space for education and recreation. "A lot of times with the urban communities, like mine, a lot of them are not what I would call food deserts, but I'd call them 'food prisons,'" Finley said.