The Coalition of Community Gardens grew out of a passion for community advocacy, a love for gardening, and a drive to help others do the same. After successfully (and frustratingly) advocating to establish a community garden ordinance within the City of Tampa, retired educator Kitty Wallace and former State Legislature employee Lena Young Green co-founded the award-winning Tampa Heights Community Garden in 2011. Through this garden, they became connected with fellow community gardens in Hillsborough County.
But there was a problem. By 2012, they noticed an alarming fact: out of the 12 gardens that had been founded between 2009 and 2012, only half of them still existed.
Lena and Kitty pondered, “Why are all these community gardens failing?”
In August of 2015, they decided to bring together members of the six remaining community gardens as well as several local gardening experts for a brainstorming session: “What could be done to help new gardens be more successful?”
The result of that brainstorming session was The Coalition of Community Gardens.
Since 2015 COCG has become a registered 501-C3 and has grown from a network of six community gardens in Hillsborough County, to over 60 community gardens across five counties with over 15 allied entities. The Coalition continues to be a leader in the field, hosting their Annual Grow Gardens Conferences and Quarterly Community Garden Meetings to share innovative gardening practices and aid in the successful creation and long-term sustainability of community gardens. In 2023 alone, eight new community gardens were founded. And the best part? The prior community garden survival rate of 50%, jumped to nearly 100%.
Innovative Projects
In 2017, COCG became even more committed to food equity and improving the health of lower-income neighborhoods throughout Tampa Bay where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food and a higher predisposition to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Michele Ogilvie, former Executive Planner of the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization, joined the COCG Board to author the Garden Steps Project as a submission to Aetna’s “Healthiest Cities Challenge.” And the submission won!
Through the garden step project and listening to the needs of the community, 30 front yard gardens and Healthy 22nd Street Community Garden (H22) were established in East Tampa, strengthening the community in ways no one could have anticipated.
City of Tampa Partnership
Due to the astounding success of the Garden Steps Model and H22, COCG partnered with Mayor Jane Castor in 2019 on her “Resilient Tampa” Roadmap to expand community gardens and increase green space and access to nutritious food. In 2020, the Coalition spearheaded the first ever USDA Urban Agriculture Grant, becoming a sub-recipient of the “City of Tampa’s Growing Our Community Gardens and Education Initiative” Grant.
A New Phase of Growth
The Coalition brought on their first employee, Urban Agriculture Coordinator and Executive Director, Meryl Stout in early 2024, who’s background in business, leadership, and personal commitment to health is leading COCG to new heights. The team was complete when Urban Agriculture Specialists Nathan Farley, a passionate grower and community garden expert, and Aun’Yiea Smith, herbal business owner with a master’s in Public Health, joined shortly thereafter.
Looking ahead
Through past, and continued efforts, the Coalition of Community Gardens has become a pioneer in community gardening and continues to make huge ripples in health equity, education, sustainable environmental practices, and related public policy. Rather than giving people food, COCG grows gardeners, empowering people to change the trajectory of their lives, health, and community for generations to come.