Philly City Council hears urban gardening proposals

At a hearing Wednesday, Philadelphia City Council listened to proposals for bringing more greenery and a healthy harvest into the city.

Ngan Tran, a student, lives in Southwest Philadelphia’s Southeast Asian community in the city. Her home near the refineries means there isn’t access to healthy food, so she is looking to have a community garden.

“If we can’t afford a nicer place to live, we definitely can’t afford to travel back and forth to food stores such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods,” she said. “I want to give back to my community and a community garden would solve it all.”

Community food growers help each other in many ways, said Chris Bowden Newsome of Bartram’s Garden.

“What I need more than anything, first and foremost, is a sense of security,” he said. “When I lay my head down at night knowing that someone is not coming through my window and I know that my neighbors are watching. And I know them because I grow food with them.”