Kitchen Garden. Local Food Initiative / flickr / 2016 / CC BY 2.0
World Kitchen Garden Day is the last Sunday of August.
“It is an opportunity for people around the world to gather in their gardens with friends, family, and members of their local community to celebrate the multiple pleasures and benefits of home-grown, hand-made foods.” [1]World Kitchen Garden Day – 26 August 2012. Scarborough, Maine: Kitchen Gardeners International. Accessed May 2017 at http://kgi.org/world-kitchen-garden-day
“Eat what you grow, and grow what you eat” — Vishwanath Kadur
The goals of the day are:
- To celebrate the positive role of organic kitchen gardening in society, health, and gastronomy;
- To raise awareness about the benefits of eating local and to encourage people to explore local food options in their areas;
- To build community spirit, at local and international levels, around the universal experiences of gardening, cooking, and eating. [2]World Kitchen Garden Day – 26 August 2012. Scarborough, Maine: Kitchen Gardeners International. Accessed May 2017 at http://kgi.org/world-kitchen-garden-day
Historically, kitchen gardens may have been to the side or back of a house, but there’s nothing saying they have to be: they can be in front of the house, or, in pots and containers on terraces, decks, windowsills, balconies and rooftops.
The movement is becoming particularly popular in India.
“Having a garden is a distant dream for most residents of the city because of space constraints. But growing and owning an organic kitchen garden on the terrace or roof top is fast catching up in the city.
This was evident from the kitchen garden of Maheswar Khilar, a resident of Saheed Nagar, who has grown green chillies, coriander, curry leaves, mint, lady finger, brinjal, cucumber, spinach and bitter gourd on his roof-top garden.
“One of the main benefits of kitchen garden is you will get fresh and organic fruits and vegetables at your own house. Gardens can grow on a balcony, along a fence, or even in containers in an apartment window. With the help of some research and creativity, you can enjoy fresh herbs and vegetables even in your own high-rise building or small apartment,” said Khilar, the convener of Kitchen Gardeners’ Association.
The association observed the World Kitchen Garden Day here on Sunday and tried to create awareness on various aspects of growing vegetables in small places.” [3]Singha, Minati. Bhubaneswar takes liking for kitchen gardens. Mumbai, Maharashtra, India: The Times of India. 27 August 2013. Accessed July 2021 at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/bhubaneswar-takes-liking-for-kitchen-gardens/articleshow/22087936.cms
#WorldKitchenGardenDay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seedmoney.org
Activities for today
- If you belong to a community garden or allotments, consider offering walking tours today, and make sure local politicians and influencers get invited;
- if you belong to a community garden or allotments, organize a potluck picnic and produce exchange for members;
- hold a benefit for a local food charity that grows some of its own food;
- write to your local city councillors to ask them to support more land for public allotment and community gardens;
- write to your local city councillors to ask them to support front-yard produce gardening, if there are bans where you live;
- post photos on social media of your home-grown crops;
- explore options for increasing the capacity for growing food in however small quantities in your own neighbourhood;
- learn about research-based, modern, safe home food preservation techniques.
Resources for safe home food preservation techniques
- National Center for Home Food Preservation
- and of course, our satellite site at Healthy Canning
(each of these sites will point you to other resources such as Ball, Bernardin, and University Extension Service and Master Food Preserver sites)
History
World Kitchen Garden Day was started by Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI) of Scarborough, Maine. Founded in 2003, the organization is now named “SeedMoney”.
“KGI initiated Kitchen Garden Day in 2003 as a healthy response to “Snack Food Month” organized by the International Snack Food Association each February. The thinking was that if the makers of potato chips, pretzels and fluorescent orange cheese doodles could spend 28 days and millions of dollars promoting their foods, the world’s kitchen gardeners should be able to have at least a day for celebrating theirs.” [4]World Kitchen Garden Day – 26 August 2012. Scarborough, Maine: Kitchen Gardeners International. Accessed May 2017 at http://kgi.org/world-kitchen-garden-day
Date Change
World Kitchen Garden Day used to be observed on the 4th Sunday of August, but that apparently moved for undisclosed reasons in 2010 to the last Sunday of August:
“It may be noted that the last Sunday of August is being observed as World Kitchen Garden Day for the last nine years.” [5]World Kitchen Garden Day: Grown greens on terrace. Orissa Post. 26 August 2019. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.orissapost.com/world-kitchen-garden-day-growing-greens-on-terrace/
This may have caused some confusion, as some organizations still announce it yearly for the 4th Sunday of August.
Sources
Bhubaneshwar. 40-day course on urban farming. Kolkata, West Bengal, India: The Telegraph. 28 August 2017. Accessed July 2021 at https://www.telegraphindia.com/odisha/40-day-course-on-urban-farming/cid/1404552
Free, Rosemary. Green for grow on World Kitchen Garden Day. Edinburgh, Scotland: The Scotsman. 24 August 2013. Accessed April 2018 at https://www.scotsman.com/news/green-for-grow-on-world-kitchen-garden-day-1-3061797
Govind, Ranjani. How green is my terrace garden. Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India: The Hindu. 31 August 2020. Accessed July 2021 at https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/homes-and-gardens/get-on-a-virtual-experience-of-oota-from-your-thota-in-memory-of-bn-vishwanath-kadur/article32473833.ece
Renfrewshire Residents Urged to Grow Their Own Food. Glasgow, Scotland: The Gazette. 17 August 2012. Accessed July 2021 at https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/13964854.renfrewshire-residents-urged-to-grow-their-own-food/
World Kitchen Garden Day. Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium: Het Nieuwsblad . 21 August 2014. Accessed July 2021 at https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/blwtu_01226303
References
↑1 | World Kitchen Garden Day – 26 August 2012. Scarborough, Maine: Kitchen Gardeners International. Accessed May 2017 at http://kgi.org/world-kitchen-garden-day |
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↑2 | World Kitchen Garden Day – 26 August 2012. Scarborough, Maine: Kitchen Gardeners International. Accessed May 2017 at http://kgi.org/world-kitchen-garden-day |
↑3 | Singha, Minati. Bhubaneswar takes liking for kitchen gardens. Mumbai, Maharashtra, India: The Times of India. 27 August 2013. Accessed July 2021 at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/bhubaneswar-takes-liking-for-kitchen-gardens/articleshow/22087936.cms |
↑4 | World Kitchen Garden Day – 26 August 2012. Scarborough, Maine: Kitchen Gardeners International. Accessed May 2017 at http://kgi.org/world-kitchen-garden-day |
↑5 | World Kitchen Garden Day: Grown greens on terrace. Orissa Post. 26 August 2019. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.orissapost.com/world-kitchen-garden-day-growing-greens-on-terrace/ |