S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show for so many reasons. People want to know how to grow their own food. We'll plant a few seeds of knowledge. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. About. Food costs are continuing to squeeze San Diegans pocketbooks. And that means accessing healthy food is getting harder and harder for families. In fact , the San Diego Hunger Coalition found that as of December 2025 , more than 1 in 4 San Diegans are nutrition and secure. Local community gardens have helped fill in that gap , giving people the space to grow their own produce and give it back to the community. So if you're looking to grow more of your own food , what do you need to know ? Well , my next guest is a long time food justice advocate who knows a thing or two about that. Diane Moss is the founder and managing director of Project New Village , a local nonprofit that aims to improve fresh food access in southeast San Diego. They've run Mount Hope Community Garden , as well as other food justice related initiatives. Diane , welcome back to the show.
S2: Thank you.
S1: So last time we had you on , I know we talked a bit about the history behind Mount Hope Community Garden. So remind us of the philosophy behind the garden and how it got started.
S2: So we are responsive to folks that are living in our neighborhood. There was a garden that was taken down , taken away in the neighborhood. And so when we were asking what would our neighbors want to see in southeastern San Diego ? Of course , it was another community garden as well as a farmer's market. So we come to this space trying to provide food for those in the neighborhood and have people involved in the growing of their own food. We don't do the individual plots we used to , but I'm not a good landlord of plots that way. So we grow collectively , and then we all contribute to the growing and harvest and share that food together. Wow.
S1: Wow. And you've built a whole network of gardens and people growing food in their own backyard. Talk more about how it's how how that has grown.
S2: It's really gone since like 2019 is when we started with what we call the Growers Collective. And now we have about 20 active backyards that are growing food and contributing to the ways in which we distribute food in the neighborhood , namely through our mobile farmers market. And then we have a weekly subscription veggie box. And most of the produce are 100% of the produce in both of those locations are local , and most is hyperlocal , like within 60 miles of our of our spot.
S1: Yeah , and I know where the the Hope garden is. It's in , um , what one would consider a food desert. What you would say is food apartheid. And so it's not so much an issue of the rising cost of produce as it is access to produce. Um , so talk a bit about what access to fresh food means for the health and well-being of a community.
S2: By the neighborhoods we serve. We have more than our fair share of health disparities. Seems like everyone has some form of diabetes , hypertension , or something that could be mitigated or taken care of if you had a better relationship with your food , and many of those that are participating are really noticing difference between what they grow and consume and what they buy somewhere else. It's a growing. I'm having more and more conversations , particularly at our growers group meeting , with the just generosity of people's spirit to share with our neighbors and just how they feel when they're eating this homegrown food , if you will. Mm.
S1: Mm.
S2: There's more. Um , there are many that have like , I don't know , some of these digestive diseases and food that we traditionally sometimes think would be good for us. Right ? It's different kinds of vegetables. For some people , that's a challenge. And so then we talk a lot about sharing what people can eat. I have a neighbor that lives in walking distance for me , Greens and colleagues. Uh , cauliflower. Other kinds of things they really disturb and get him under. But what he can eat a lot of is potatoes. So when I have potatoes , we we just we share , we swap so that he can get more of what he needs to get full. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , you know , you you promote this idea of of food sovereignty to remind us what that means and why it's so important to teach about.
S2: So food sovereignty really says that you have control over the way things are grown and come to you , how they're grown and how they're distributed , that you're not waiting for someone , I guess , to come in and relieve or solve a problem that you actively need to be involved in the growing of your food , the distribution of your food. And so here we are asking folks to come to many community events where we're choosing what it is that we want to eat and what we want to share. You know , we have a project in our pipeline where we want to make a grocery store , and we're starting to engage people in what brands of food do we want to pick in our store ? What vegetables do people eat culturally in our neighborhoods so that we can be appropriate and people can get what they need ? So it's really about being in control of what you get and not sitting and waiting for others to solve a problem for you. That's my take on that. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I mean , as you see these this insecurity around the global food systems. Um , how do you feel about the work that you do ? And it's important.
S2: I think it's really important as we have community groups , we do something called Community Rising , where we bring residents in and do these leadership trainings. A lot of folks are just just not familiar with the benefits of urban agriculture or having access to your own food or even the taste differences and what it costs , actually. The thing that's different here is being in control means you have to actively be involved , and it's a little more time consuming and maybe less convenient than going to the store. But the benefit and the payoff is just it's it's there , uh , in terms of your health , in terms of what it cost. So we're just saying there are always opportunities to onboard to get involved in what we're calling an urban urban ag experience. Right. And and learning what that can mean. It also means that we have to advocate for places to grow. We grow in our backyards , but we have a lot of abandoned lots. Church lots. These are blank spaces that we can use to grow food and distribute in our neighborhoods.
S1: And I feel like what you're doing really speaks to the importance of like of community pulling together in times specifically of scarcity. Tell me about that.
S2: Yes , this is true. We find that , you know , we just had our our meeting this weekend with with our growers. And so people just kind of spontaneously bring different things to the table. People are starting to take and make added value foods. Someone brought some preserves or some , um , what they call it , uh , like a marmalade. Someone else made some , uh , bread , sourdough bread. So just right there on the fly. These are I know the people who brought this and everything that's on our table. We know who brought it is some assurance and knowing who made the food that you're eating. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , I mean , for those who are interested in growing their own food for themselves or and for their community.
S2: Um , and there's a lot of resources that we can tap into our neighbors. Uh , I'm going to say seniors , and I'm going to say , we got these Master Gardener folks around in our neighborhood. So a lot of help is available if you want to get started with gardening , I find that people that are in this realm of gardening are the most generous with their time and with their talent. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. And so here's another question.
S2: It's a weekly veggie box , and I subscribe. And then I share with my neighbors , and we're always talking about how much money can be saved because I don't have I'm in my home where I live. There are not others that I share with , so I'm able to take what it is that I know I'm going to eat and then pass the rest along to my neighbor , and they do the same with me. And then sharing of recipes. Um , it's it's it's been most cost effective. Some days we find we didn't spend any money on the meals that we're eating , because most of it came out of somebody's yard that we know we're just sharing. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. You know , I wanted to bring , you know , environmental justice into this conversation , too , because , um , the garden in many ways promotes that.
S2: Because if I get a bunch of collard greens and I get a lot of leaves and I don't need them and I don't use them. I compost in my backyard. All of our garden sites were composting and making. Again , the ingredient for good food is good soil. So we're treating our soil. We're making the soil better so that we can grow food. And I think that's better for the environment , but it's also better for the food that we're growing.
S1: Better for the environment and better for the soul , too , because , you know , it can also be a place of healing the garden. And it's something I know we've we've also talked about a bit before.
S2: You're in this place where people are good social people. You share share values with them. It's good to be outside and feel the sun. And on this weekend we had a little bit of rain. Um , it's very satisfying to folks and and you. In our garden , people come from all over. So you're meeting and sharing with other people that you may not have other things in common with. But in this garden space , we're here to take care of this space that we're allowed to be in. And that's the unifying agenda , if you will. So lots of healing , lots of people staying longer and lots of smiles.
S1: And before we go , I know earlier you mentioned zones.
S2: We put some watermelon in one of our places and other melons. Um , artichoke. I'm seeing artichoke happen. So I think those are some of the things we're moving into a warmer season.
S1: All right. And they'll be ready to to eat. When ? June.
S2: You know , I say about a few months , right ? June ? Yes. Okay.
S1: Okay. All right. I've been speaking with Diane Mosse. She's the founder and managing director of Project New Village , and we'll be including some of the resources mentioned on our page at KPBS. Thank you so much , Diane.
S2: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
