The current resurgence in home and community gardens is similar to previous calls to garden in our country – most notably the victory garden movements of WWI and WWII. Using gardens and the food that comes from them, we can profoundly change our lives and our communities.

Both World War victory garden movements were extremely successful. The goals for WWI were covered in a previous post . While there were similar goals for WWII, some additional goals included:

• Improving health by gardening
• Proper storage and preservation of surplus
• Enabling families and institutions to save money on vegetables, so the money could be used for other necessities
• Gardens for urban dwellers
• Mobilizing and unifying Americans.

And as it had been in 1917, the American people pitched in together and went to work. The early 1940’s were also years of great food production by everyday people.

We are in the midst of a new cycle of a garden movement. While there are many reasons people are gardening today, there is a growing demand for food that is tasty, nutritious, and economically and environmentally sustainable.  In 2009, there were 4 million new gardeners nationwide. We are even happier to report that the enthusiasm and planting continues!

To learn more, please see our previous posts on Victory Gardens and or contact our office .