Our gardens are central to The Common Place’s food sovereignty efforts, producing approximately 300 lbs of fresh produce annually for our Weekly Community Food Distribution, held on Saturday mornings. As part of our long-term vision, we aim to identify and acquire vacant lots in Southwest Philadelphia to establish a network of gardens, providing more fresh produce to our community and launching a future TCP-operated farmer’s market.
Bunny’s Garden @ The Common Place: Established in 2019, this garden features six raised beds and is located on-site at Chester Ave & Cecil Ave. It utilizes a drip irrigation system for sustainable watering. The garden produce about 300 pounds of food per year.
Bunny’s Garden II @ SWPC: Started in 2024 in partnership with The Presbytery of Philadelphia and Southwestern Presbyterian Church, this garden features nine raised beds. It produced 200 lbs of fresh produce in 2024, with an anticipated yield of 450 lbs in 2025. Like Bunny’s Garden, it also features a drip irrigation system.
Pollinator Garden @ The Common Place: Located on-site at 58th Street, this garden is a partnership with the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum. It includes various pollinator plants that support biodiversity, benefit the other gardens, and beautify our neighborhood.
Staff:
- Cameron Cephas, Garden Coordinator
- Gene Burke, Operations Director and Garden Manager
Ways to Get Involved:
- Garden Days: Help us during planting, maintenance, and harvest days.
- Annual Hopefest Service Day: Participate in this day of service, where we come together to care for the gardens and the community.
- Donations: Support our garden initiatives through financial contributions, volunteering, or in-kind donations.
For more information or to get involved, please contact Cameron Cephas, Garden Coordinator.
Garden Partnerships: Our garden efforts are supported by partners like Trellis For Tomorrow (Phoenixville, PA), Sankofa Farms at Bartram’s Garden (Southwest Philadelphia), The Black Church Food Security Network (BCFSN) (Baltimore, MD), The Presbytery of Philadelphia, Salt & Light Community Church, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Zion Baptist Church Ambler, Wayne Presbyterian Church, The Philadelphia Food Trust, and the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum.
Together, we are working toward expanding our garden operations and making fresh, locally-grown food more accessible to our community.