The five bags of tomatoes above were harvested at the Bethlehem Lutheran garden in West Oakland. This last season they harvested more than 200 pounds of produce! Only about 500 square feet, this garden was able to provide a lot of free food on unused church land. The Free Farm in San Francisco, which is about 1/3 of an acre and sits on the former site of St. Paulus Lutheran Church has harvested 2,124 pounds since February.
In these hard economic times, transforming unused church land into free food is a low cost way that congregations can respond to the real needs of its congregants and the community around it. Let us know if your church gets inspired to grow produce on your unused space or if we can help you start a farm where you live.
We believe that churches really can address hunger issues. The goal of our free farms was to prove that it doesn't have to cost a lot of money to feed people. We hope our project has inspired you!
