What does it mean to strengthen our local food system? How do we care for each other and our children amid deepening economic and environmental stress?

On a Saturday in May, an excited group of curious and committed parishioners and volunteers decided to answer these questions through joint action. We gathered on the front steps of Old West Church, United Methodist on Cambridge Street — Boston’s Government Center, not far from city hall.

Reverend Sara Garrard and church leaders had been envisioning how to better demonstrate the church’s commitment to food and social justice. It was time to actively participate in the food movement that has been inspiring more and more of us to re-vision our own spaces to grow more nutritious food in the name of food justice and care for Earth.

In 2014, in collaboration with the Boston Food Forest Coalition, the members of the historic Old West Church created the first small feature in a beautiful food production space called an “edible forest garden.” This approach to gardening is low maintenance as it mimics existing woodland ecosystems to create a tranquil park in which primarily perennial herbs, veggies, berries, and trees set the foundational layer of a harvestable bounty that will produce for decades without replanting. 

That Saturday, it all began with the placement of potted herbs spiraling up the steps to the church. Volunteers transplanted and seeded some of the most widely appreciated of our spice rack selections into a swirl of terracotta: basil, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and mint.

Organized by Boston Food Forest Coalition (with a special thanks to Allandale Farm for its donations!), this workshop/gathering taught attendees everything from how to assemble well-drained pots, to what potting mixes work well for herbs, to how to plant and tend to them and the medicinal and nutritional values of harvesting and utilizing them.

Along with the countless tasty and health-related benefits to growing and eating more varieties of fresh foods, we value the community we build together as we laugh, learn, and share our cultures and our bounty. Although the steps are small, small steps such as these fill us with gratitude to be part of a societal shift, one that has begun to look both more inward to what we can do as a community, and outward to the entire web of life and those who are to follow after us.