Judy Sherburne says she’s often thinking about how people in Juneau get their food.
“I’ve heard predictions that if we did not have a barge for a week, we’d be pretty lean,” she said. “And a couple of weeks would be pretty serious.”
Sherburne organized the Thane Community Garden, which is in its first growing season. She wanted there to be a place for her neighbors to come together to plant in a sunny, flat community space.
The garden has about 40 beds. As of late June they are all in use, with new growth coming up. Sheep Creek rushes by in the background. Some beds have plastic hoops covering the veggies, others have shiny windmills to deter ravens.
Lauren Smoker helped get the project going. She has her own 20 foot by 4 foot bed.
“Lingít potatoes in one half of it,” she said. “And then I’ve got some strawberries, some radish, spinach, shallots and broccoli.”
Her chives are tall already. It’s Smoker’s first time growing vegetables, and she’s not the only beginner, Sherburne says.
“A lot of newbies here,” she said. “Not only new to gardening but new to getting to know their neighbors.”
She says she’s made new friends in the garden. And what they grow here will help put quality food on the table and lower their grocery bills. She says about 10% of the people who are growing plots this summer live on fixed incomes, which makes it harder to keep up with rising food costs.
“There are other people who don’t have jobs, that may be lower income,” she said.
While the plots aren’t large enough to live off, Sherburne says even a little bit of fresh organic food can make a difference in someone’s health. She gestures to a row of kale.
“It’s not going to make or break somebody that might be in that situation, but it could complement what they’re able to do with their income,” she said. “Having a fresh salad on the table every night is huge.”
Sherburne says she plans to start offering classes soon. She wants to teach people how to make the most of a garden plot in this climate, and what nutrients they can get from the different things they can grow.
