By Kevin Buchanan

Technical Services

Fort Worth is a bit behind the times in the urban agriculture movement, but the city is starting to embrace it at last.  The first official, city-approved community garden in Fort Worth is now in its first growing season thanks, in part, to support from TCU and a number of its faculty and staff. Fairmount Community Garden is located at 5th Avenue and Maddox Street, across from Fairmount Park on the near Southside.

 

Built on what were once vacant lots repossessed by the city, the Fairmount Community Garden was put together by a group of neighborhood residents wishing to promote local food sources in Fort Worth. The concept came from Andy Schoolmaster (dean, AddRan College of Liberal Arts) who also serves as director of TCU's Institute for Urban Living and Innovation. There was $1,000 in support from TCU from the start, and Andy's own efforts, including a presentation he gave to the Fort Worth City Council.  "It was a no brainer," he says, once local residents caught onto the idea. TCU Army ROTC cadets provided the initial "sweat equity" by preparing the land for gardening. With sponsorship from other organizations and companies, Fort Worth South, Inc. and District 9 City Council representative Joel Burns, Fairmount has finally become a reality.

 

The Community Garden is comprised of 76 plots, each 8′ x 4′, leasable by residents for $35 per year.  According to garden organizer Susan Harper, all 76 lots are spoken for, and a waiting list for openings is in place.  The organic garden is already producing food.  Other TCU staffers who've lent a hand or tilled a plot of their own include Ann McDonald (AddRan), David Aftandilian (sociology & anthropology), and Fairmount residents Janet Spittler (religion), Bonnie Blackwell (English), Blake Hestir (philosophy) and Jeannine Gailey (sociology).

 

Signs that urban agriculture and local food are gaining ground in urban Fort Worth can be found elsewhere now, as the group The New Public Market is putting together a proposal to lease and renovate the attractive old Public Market Building on Henderson Street, transforming it into a new public market featuring local and Texas food providers.  While putting together their plans for that facility, The New Public Market is having monthly Market Days on the parking lot of Into the Garden at 4600 Dexter Avenue just off Camp Bowie Blvd. There The New Public Market and other providers will set up shop and offer everything from local wholesale produce, gourmet condiments, homemade pastas, tamales, smoked meats and more.

 

Supporters hope that getting the Public Market Building back as a working food market would be a great benefit, especially for Downtown and the Near Southside, and driving this sort of thing forward would help support more local food markets in areas like the Near Southside and Cultural District. In addition, efforts to create more community gardens in our redeveloping urban neighborhoods like the one in Fairmount will help create a stronger local food movement in this city, especially when joined with gardens replacing lawns in our urban bungalow neighborhoods and the creation of rooftop gardens, windowboxes, and other local food sources for multi-family and mixed-use buildings.