On two abundant acres in the heart of Detroit’s historic Eastern Market District, the KGD Farm grows 11,000 pounds of fresh produce each year. Photo courtesy of Keep Growing Detroit.
By Andrea Miller
For those living in Detroit, Michigan, there are significant barriers to obtaining fresh, nutritious food. Almost 70 percent of households experience food insecurity, and 30,000 residents lack access to full-service supermarkets. The rising cost of groceries—up 25 percent nationwide since the pandemic—is intensifying these challenges in Detroit, and emergency food providers struggle with growing demand and limited resources.
Many Detroiters are turning to urban agriculture as a practical, empowering way to improve food security, and Keep Growing Detroit (KGD) is a nonprofit organization that supports this work. Through its Garden Resource Program, KGD provides seeds, transplants, compost, education, and technical assistance to thousands of gardeners across the city. Not only is KGD increasing access to nutritious produce today, it’s also helping communities build skills, confidence, relationships, and resilience for the long term. As one beneficiary put it, “Keep Growing Detroit is the backbone of the city’s rebirth.”
Buddhist Global Relief has been working with KGD since 2015. Currently, KGD’s efforts supported by BGR are threefold: They’re expanding seasonal food production into the fall and early winter; offering education in culturally significant foodways; and strengthening community connections among growers.
To expand seasonal food production, KGD is providing cold-weather seeds and Detroit-grown transplants to 1,750 gardens and farms. These fall distributions are extending the growing season for experienced gardeners and allowing new participants to begin growing later in the year. For growers who rely on their harvests to help meet daily food needs, extending the season is a vital step toward greater food security.
To provide hands-on education in growing and cooking, KGD is offering fifteen classes to almost 400 participants. These classes combine teaching practical skills, such as succession planting and food preservation, with celebrating culturally meaningful food traditions. Participants share recipes, cultural knowledge, and personal experiences connected to food, and in the process, they build confidence in producing and preparing nourishing meals. “The garden and cooking together reminded me that growing food is also growing stories, memory, and community,” said one participant.
To foster community among growers, KGD is hosting six gatherings, including three citywide events: the Annual Tour of Detroit Urban Gardens and Farms, GarlicFest, and the Annual Celebration. These events are engaging more than 600 gardeners and farmers, creating opportunities for them to cultivate friendships and support each other in tending their gardens and farms.
Taken together, KGD’s initiatives are strengthening Detroit’s food system from the ground up. This work is rooted in reciprocity. As food prices fluctuate and weather extremes challenge growers, KGD is sustaining a network where 72 percent of Garden Resource Program members share food, plants, seeds, and knowledge with neighbors and 65 percent collaborate with or receive help from other growers. For many, these harvests are essential; 79 percent of members reported that rising food prices have made their garden more important than ever.
The true measure of KGD’s impact is found in the stories of the people who grow, cook, and gather.
“I was at crop pickup and asked for help getting around, and a volunteer walked me in,” said one participant. “It meant so much that I cried. I was embarrassed and ashamed to ask for help, but we bonded, and I left feeling supported and welcomed.”
Another beneficiary reported finding purpose through gardening and food sovereignty. “I cannot impress upon you enough how much I came home to myself,” this person said. “It opened doors in my spirit I had been knocking on for years. When I started growing, it felt like, ‘This is what you’re supposed to do. This is you.’ And when I connected with KGD, it was like, ‘You’re not crazy.’ There are other people who feel called to put their hands in the dirt, grow their own food, grow their own medicine. I realized I wasn’t alone.”
Andrea Miller is editor of the Buddhist magazine Lion’s Roar. She is the author of Awakening My Heart: Essays, Articles, and Interviews on the Buddhist Life and the picture book The Day the Buddha Woke Up. She serves on the board of directors for Sierra Club Canada Foundation.
