Today, most Vermonters have lost the knowledge of how to grow their own food. Shopping in supermarkets, we are familiar with plenty of brand names but few vegetable varieties, and the only tool we use to produce our food is a credit card.

Now a faltering economy, soaring supermarket prices and concerns about food security have combined to spark an astonishing renewal of interest in locally-sourced food and home vegetable gardening. In Vermont and across the United States, communities are coming together to ask how they can best feed themselves in these uncertain times.

Yet despite the attention that the local food movement has brought to gardening, thousands of Vermonters are still not aware that a simple backyard or porch garden can save them money, increase self sufficiency, provide fresh produce, and guarantee a steady source of food. Even if they do understand these benefits, many people don’t know how to start a garden. Inspiring and instructing Vermonters about how to grow some of their own food is the goal of our State House Food Garden Project. We plan to recruit citizens to serve as volunteer stewards, and the food grown in the garden will be donated to local food banks.

It is our hope that the State House food garden will inspire similarly organized public/private gardens on portions of county courthouse lawns, in public parks, and on town greens around our state, providing vital food assistance to those in need.