About Us
The Belmar Community Garden was established in 2012 to offer Lakewood residents a space to grow food and build connections with their neighbors. Today, it thrives with a vibrant mix of produce, flowers, beehives, and a strong sense of community.
The garden includes over 100 gardeners working across 24 rented plots, two donation plots that provide fresh produce to local food banks, beehives, and a variety of fruit and decorative trees. We’re committed to ensuring that cost isn’t a barrier to participation, offering reduced or waived dues for members in need. This year, we organized donations to The Action Center, contributing over 150 pounds of fresh produce to support those facing hardship in our community.
Housed in the backyard of Mindspark, a nonprofit focused on bridging education and industry, the garden benefits from Mindspark’s generous donation of land and water, helping to keep our garden thriving and growing.
What is a Community Garden?
Community gardens are spaces where people come together to grow a diverse range of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers. By renting individual or shared plots, residents can cultivate their own food and foster connections with neighbors. These gardens have the potential to help address food deserts in low-income areas, offering residents better access to nutritious food that is essential for a healthy lifestyle.
A community garden might consist of raised beds on an empty lot, where neighbors can visit daily to tend to their plants and harvest fresh food. Alternatively, a garden might be located in the backyard of a church, with the produce donated to local food pantries or soup kitchens to support those in need. Community gardens can help alleviate various challenges facing urban areas.
They bring numerous benefits, including increased access to healthy foods, stronger community bonds, and a reduction in environmental issues. They also help lower food transportation costs, reduce food miles, and contribute to sustainability. By promoting sustainable agricultural practices, community gardens can help protect the environment, minimize water runoff, and create valuable habitats, improving the overall ecology of urban areas.
What are the Benefits of a Community Garden?
Community gardens offer numerous benefits for both people and the environment. They foster a sense of community in neighborhoods where residents are often disconnected from one another. Additionally, they provide access to healthy food options in areas that may lack them.
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Unfortunately, many urban residents don’t have the luxury of a garden patio or even a sunny balcony for container gardening. At the same time, many cities are filled with vacant, unused spaces accumulating trash and debris. Transforming these spaces into urban gardens that residents can share would be a win-win for everyone.
This is the concept behind community gardens—shared plots of land where people come together to grow fresh vegetables and flowers. Across cities in America, community gardens are transforming neglected spaces into thriving green areas, offering apartment dwellers a chance to experience the joys of gardening and cultivate fresh, local produce.
