For over a decade, the 65th & Woodlawn and Kumunda Gardens have been a major source of food and a treasured island of shared green space for residents on Chicago's South Side. 

We are stunned to learn that the landowner, First Presbyterian Church, plans to close both gardens immediately. No reason has been given.

The gardens' closure would be a blow to Southside families, our health and budgets, and to the hundreds of food pantry clients who depend on the fresh produce we provide weekly. We will have to turn away the teen job skills and food justice programs we host each summer. Non-gardening neighbors will be impacted when these cultivated spaces revert to trash-strewn vacant lots. This would be a heartbreaking waste.

Join us in telling the church that we value the gardens as a sustainable healthy food source, an oasis of peace and healing, a way to build community with new and existing neighbors, and a connection to the deep history and shared values of Woodlawn.

Please sign our petition to the church leadership, and tell them to SAVE WOODLAWN'S GARDENS.

Want to do more? Share this petition, and send the church an email about why the gardens are important to you at SaveWoodlawnsGardens@gmail.com

#savewoodlawnsgardens #foodjusticeforwoodlawn #savethegardens