Written by Malachi Mena
Bountiful Cities’ third annual Urban Garden Tour and Tasting is taking place this Sunday, July 14th! The experience is open to all! Those partaking will visit 10 food producing gardens throughout Asheville while being able to experience different activities throughout the gardens.
On Asheville FM News Hour, Patryk Battle spoke to Cathy Cleary about Bountiful Cities and what people can expect from the tour. Cleary described Bountiful Cities as an Urban Agriculture Food Justice Organization. They give people the resources needed to have control of where their food comes from. This is done through education around seeds, soil, and how to grow and harvest food. The organization also does policy work with the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council. This makes sure local laws allow people to share and grow food.
Cleary highlighted some of the gardens that are a part of the tour, including the Peace Garden off of Burton Street, the Sunny Point garden, We Can Garden on Clingman Avenue, and the Shiloh Community Garden, being a brand new part of the tour. Cleary stated “we try to showcase lots of different examples of how we can be growing food in an urban setting.” She made clear that the tour will focus on primarily food producing gardens, and will include food & beverages from the gardens for those who pay for a tasting ticket. The tour will take place from 1pm-6pm and an after party will be held at The Odd at 6pm.
People can not only support Bountiful Cities by being in attendance for the tour, but can also purchase raffle tickets for prizes such as passes to the Biltmore House. Money made will go towards supporting the program as well as the gardens on the tour.
For more on Bountiful Cities and the upcoming Urban Garden Tour and Tasting check out this week’s episode of Asheville FM News Hour