Promoting a Food-Sovereign City in Detroit

By Patricia Brick

This year Buddhist Global Relief’s partner Keep Growing Detroit (KGD) celebrated its sixth anniversary of supporting gardeners and creating food distribution pathways to ensure as many Detroit residents as possible have access to nutritious locally grown fruits and vegetables.

With a median household income below $31,000, nearly 38 percent of Detroit residents live below the poverty line, and 42 percent of households rely on food assistance programs to feed their families. KGD was founded to promote a food-sovereign city, in which all Detroit residents have access to healthy, sustainably cultivated food grown by Detroiters within the city limits. Through the long-standing Garden Resource Program, founded in 2003, KGD provides seeds, transplants, and resources to support Detroiters in growing their own food gardens and securing access to fresh, low-cost vegetables.

Last year, 24,362 gardeners participated in the Garden Resource Program, collectively growing more than 385,000 pounds of food in 1,603 gardens in backyards, side lots, schools, community gardens, and other private and public spaces citywide. More than a quarter of these gardens were cultivated by families with children under 5, thanks to KGD’s dedicated outreach to young families through educational programs for children and families as well as through a partnership with the Detroit Health Department that helps families buy vegetable transplants using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

In addition to improving their access to healthy food, participating gardeners reported saving an estimated $1,000 in grocery bills each year. KGD’s Grown in Detroit program, founded in 2006, also offers opportunities for growers to collectively sell their extra produce at market days. Last year, growers at 55 gardens participated in this program, together earning over $50,000. In a related program, growers at 34 gardens and farms sold their fruits and vegetables to local restaurants and food businesses, earning more than $20,000. Alumni of the Grown in Detroit programs continue to sell their produce at farmers’ markets and other outlets.

BGR has supported Keep Growing Detroit since 2015. A 2019-20 grant from BGR funds the distribution of 2,000 pounds of produce from Keep Growing Detroit’s farm to food-insecure families in the city; it also funds 30 community outreach events to increase awareness of KGD’s programs. In the coming year the organization aims to bring 400 new households into its Garden Resource Program.

Patricia Brick is a Zen student, chair of BGR’s Communications Committee, and a BGR staff writer. She lives in New Jersey.