Felipe Camacho
I think that, you know, seven years ago; I think that as a whole, we 
were barely looking at urban agriculture and where that was going.

And folks didn't really have a concept of what type or what amounts 
of food could be produced in the urban landscape.

Woman
Carrots.

Man
Chili peppers.

Woman
Broccoli.

Man
Cabbage.

Woman
Beets.

Man
Green beans.

Woman
Brussel sprouts.

Man
Bell peppers.

Woman
Sugar snap peas are really fun.

[Fun music]

Colleen Dieter
It brings people together who maybe never would have met each other, 
who maybe never would have crossed those gaps.

Felipe Camacho
For example, at this garden here on east second street, we've got 
young professionals, we've got seniors and people who are still 
working, we've got stay-at-home moms, we've got folks that are 
working two or three jobs.

I think that community gardening, in itself, is a concept.

Kathy McWhorter
It's a place where, as neighbors, we can come together and cooperate 
together, to make our lives better, to get to know each other.

Mike Hopps
Support from the other gardeners.

You support them, they support you.

It's all tied in.

Kathy McWhorter
I've had a garden here at El Jardin Alegre for probably about, five 
to seven years, something like that.

Mike Hopps
So this was my real first formal try at growing vegetables.

Kathy McWhorter
I grew up in Southeast Texas and my daddy always had a big garden.

He always let me have one row in his garden, so that was a real 
pleasure for me as a child.

And then I got away from it for a while, and I guess the last thirty 
years, I've been gardening again.

Mike Hopps
I've always liked the outdoors.

I've always liked the idea of being self-sufficient.

And I've also always liked the idea of being organic.

Colleen Dieter
Our community gardens are organic gardens, and we discourage the use 
of synthetic pesticides.

Mike Hopps
You dig up a shovel full of soil, and it's moving.

There's worms, there's grubs, there's bugs, there's microorganisms in there.

And you can just feel the soil is alive.

And by adding all these chemicals in there, you're killing the soil.

Kathy McWhorter
So I love it that this food is organic, and that I know what's in it 
because I know what I fed the soils.

I know how mineral-rich my greens are, and I know how much nutrition 
I'm getting from what I eat.

Mike Hopps
People pay tons of money on health insurance, when the cheapest 
health insurance you can buy is healthy food.

Kathy McWhorter
There's always a difference in the homegrown vegetables.

Mike Hopps
A lot more flavor to them, a lot more flavor.

Yeah, and my wife was kind of making fun of me.

Because she likes green beans, and I really never liked green beans, 
so I decided to go ahead and plant some for her.

And she went ahead and prepared them as she usually does.

And I don't know if it was just my imagination or what, but man, that 
was the first plate of green beans I really liked.

My favorite vegetable?  [Laughing]

That's a hard question.

Kathy McWhorter
Collard greens are my favorite.

And broccoli and brussel sprouts are probably my very favorite.

Mike Hopps
Just for overall; overall, I like the tomato.

Because it's the most versatile.

I mean, you can eat the tomatoes raw or cooked, you can use them to 
make salsa, salads.

They're many varieties to choose from.

You get yellow tomatoes, purple tomatoes, besides your red tomatoes.

The more colors you actually use in your vegetables, the healthier it 
is for you.

Colleen Dieter
And besides that, the community gardens provide so much more than 
just the access to fresh food and just the inexpensive access to 
fresh food.

Mike Hopps
It's always nice to have green areas in your community.

Rather that this were like a ten story building here, and cars going 
in and out.

Kathy McWhorter
Just helps us breathe better, and helps everybody feel better, 
whether they're conscious of it or not.

We feel like, that the thing that will really keep the character of 
our neighborhood intact, is to be very aware of keeping our green 
spaces, to have even more gardens.

Mike Hopps
We'll have healthy plants, healthy people, healthy community.

It all, like I say, it all ties in together.

[Fun music]