Home » About Us

About Us

Mission

The Food is Free Project is a worldwide movement of people growing and sharing food freely. We encourage connecting with your neighbors by planting a front yard garden or sharing your harvest with a #foodisfree table.

The first small 4×4 garden sparked so many conversations and interactions with neighbors. I began to realize the garden’s power to connect with others and imagined what a block would look like where front yard gardens were normal. Hosting a potluck to share the idea, we got to work with the help of friends and neighbors.

Over the next 3 months, we created a new normal where 19 of the 30 houses on our block in Austin, TX hosted a front yard community garden. We began blogging about our mistakes and successes and open-sourced the vision. Over the past 7 years, over 350 branches of Food is Free have sprouted around the world from amazing people like you!

Will your community be the next #foodisfreeproject? You’re invited to plant your first seeds and join us! It’s time we reconnect with our food and meet our neighbors. Invite your friends to join the mission. Transform your own neighborhood by planting a community garden in your front yard.

When first lining our block in front yard gardens, the gardens were built using salvaged materials that would otherwise be headed to the landfill. By growing using drought-tolerant, wicking bed gardens, these low maintenance gardens only need to be watered every 2-4 weeks. This simple tool introduces people to a very easy method of growing organic food with very little work. Check out our video tutorial on How to Build a Wicking Bed Garden

Food is Free provides a platform for community interaction opening the door to further collaboration. Imagine driving down your street, where the majority of neighbors host a front yard community garden, neighbors come together for potlucks, establish tool-sharing and community composting programs while creating safer, more beautiful neighborhoods.

We are creating models for how to grow food in unused public spaces that provide opportunities for people to experience fresh, healthy, organic food, and the power of community when we come together for a cause that’s greater than ourselves. We want to learn what has worked for you so share your experiences and #foodisfree photos with us on social media.

How to Start a Food is Free Project Guide – Click the image below to read the guide. Right click and “save link as” to download it. We wanted it to be a mix of inspiration and action steps without being too overwhelming. Plant a front yard garden and share the harvest this season and join the ‪#‎foodisfree‬ movement.