Do you support legislation for creating and maintaining community gardens?

Question

There is no doubt there are a wealth of benefits for building community gardens. However, would you vote to support government initiatives to create and maintain community garden programs ? What would be important to include in the legislation? What could be problematic?
I wondered this, when we began to see crisis agencies moving food donations from the hungry to feed the starving in Ukraine. Do we bear some responsibility to help offset a portion of this food scarcity crisis? What about reducing food miles to offset climate change?
Below is an excerpt to briefly outline the benefits.
Community gardens:
* Improve air and soil quality
* Increase biodiversity of plants and animals
* Reduce “food miles” that are required to transport nutritious food
* Can reduce neighborhood waste through composting
* Access to fresh foods and improve food security
* Increase physical activity through garden maintenance activities
* Improve dietary habits through education
* Increase fruit and vegetable intake
* Reduce risk of obesity and obesity-related diseases
* Improve mental health and promote relaxation
* Gardens in urban areas are positively correlated with decreased crime rates 
* A government funded program would provide job opportunities
* Urban agriculture can teach residents useful skills
Article to source studies and statistics to support above claims:
https://greenleafcommunities.org/the-many-benefits-of-community-gardens/

Answer

The way this is phrased is tricky. I would support legislation that makes community gardens possible or attainable. Like if a store donated supplies they could write it off, or allowing space to be taxed as a non profit or some other positive alternative 
I don’t support employing more government paid personnel to maintain them. If you do that it is no longer a community garden, it’s the same as a public park and there is no expectation that citizens participate in the project

Answer

I have seen some community gardens before and I’ve never seen them well maintained. Always overgrown with weeds and it never seemed like people actually harvested the vegetables and fruits. I remember one apartment complex I used to walk past every day had a large garden and there was always rotten tomatoes everywhere because no one was picking them. 
I love the idea of them but I don’t think people, at large, have the time/knowledge to put much effort into it. A lot of people don’t know how to grow plants and maintain food bearing plants. And then a lot of people work too often or are too busy to dedicate time to it. Then there is also the fact that a large portion of Americans simply to do not eat fresh vegetables or know how to/have time to cook them.

Answer

I voted “no” only because I don’t want the government to own these gardens. I would prefer that each community uses their tax money to help fund it and the community helps take care of it or owns a “plot”….but I don’t want the government to have a single thing to do with the garden. The government has proved itself many times over it knows nothing about horticulture, and I also believe we as a society need to have a food source that is not owned by the government and it’s something they don’t have their hands in.

Answer

I live in an area where community gardens are all over and very popular. Some in thr larger cities have waiting lists for plots because they are full. But the reason they work is because the community wants them and is willing to maintain amd care for them. Having this turn into a gov't program isn't something I would like to see because it isn't needed honestly for a garden that is going to work. In most places they are approved by city councils and have volunteers that oversee them. A lot of them get donations from local nurseries for soil and very very basic needed supplies. There are some grants in some states for help to start community gardens they just have to be wrote and applied for, I have written several of these myself for them. There are see exchanges that help get low cost or even free seeds and programs like thr master gardeners or local colleges/community colleges horticulture programs will often donate seeds or even rime for classes or info sessions on growing. Libraries have tons of books on local growing to learn and there are many free ways to learn in person. The big need is people who want them though. The community will be the best judge if they want it and the community will be the one who cares for it for it to be a success. Some citirs help run and monitor them also through their parks and rec or public works dept which are approved by the city council and budget committee for that local area. In my opinion state and federal anything doesn't need to get involved because therr are already a ton of resources if someone cares to find them, and if people don't care enough to look the garden will probably fail anyways. Dedicated community members are the most important thing and the gov't can't provide that.

Answer

There's an excellent community garden run by my local council in the park near my apartment building. When we were having our baby shower in the park the other day, a lady brought us a huge bunch of gerberas from the garden. Being in an apartment, I would love to have access to a community worm farm / compost program, but unfortunately there's no program for food and garden organics in my area. 
My friends live in a house on a tree lined street on the far side of my suburb, and they've converted the verge from grass into a herb and vegetable space. It's public land so I think they had to get permission, but anyone can walk past and pick herbs or vegetables. My friends and their neighbours maintain it at their cost because they love it.
I think both council run and community led can be successful in the right conditions, but there needs to be the investment / interest in education and maintenance. Just dumping a garden somewhere because of public policy but then not following through with education and support is pointless.

Answer

Everything the Government gets it’s hands on turns to sh*t; sorry not sorry. The Southern Border, Healthcare, Education system. I vote for anything that makes less Government not more.

Answer

Not that it isn’t possible, but I’ve never seen them be successful. No one ever really maintains or harvests them, and I’ve also often seen them vandalized or otherwise destroyed. It’s a nice hope, but I have yet to see it be done well.

Do you support legislation for creating and maintaining community gardens?

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