A free food project on New York's waterways challenges residents to imagine how we might adapt to a more resource-constrained world.
n New York City, where land is valuable and developers can rake in big profits, community gardens are being uprooted to make way for more profitable ventures. As a result, some families are losing a key source of fresh food. But what if members of the public had access to a site where they could pick freshly grown fruits and vegetables for free? And what if the space it occupied was not at risk for development?
That site now exists. In July, a barge carrying a “food forest” of fruit, nut, and vegetable plants began a five-month cruise in the waters around New York City—waters that, unlike much of the land, remain public.
“Food should be available as a public service, and we want to show that the waters are a commons which can be used as public space to grow food,” says Mary Mattingly, the local artist behind the project known as Swale. For Mattingly, Swale is not just a way to distribute fresh food but also an art project aimed at provoking the public to imagine how urban environments might adapt to a more resource-constrained world. She hopes Swale can show how “New York City has the potential to be more resilient in the future.”
To read more of Kristine Wong's article, please click here.
Comments (0)