CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 55 T he first time I met Marsha Howe, she greeted me with a colorful bouquet of zinnias, rosemary and ai basil she hand-picked from a garden she grew her- self surrounding the Museum of the Cape Fear's walking bridge. "I gorilla garden," she said. "Gorilla garden?" I asked. With a smile, she corrected me. "Gue- rilla. It's when you plant food in public spaces." Originally, the soil around the bridge was nutrient-depleted sand that Marsha volunteered to bring back to life. Marsha planted a variety of plants that are drought resistant and require little maintenance. Aer a little love and care and mulching and compost, the soil began to mend. "Notice the ai basil has roots," she said, referring to the bouqet. "I like to share living plants that can continue to live and grow. Everything in this arrange - ment is edible." Introductions Marsha Howe is the director of Sus- tainable Neighbors, a business dedicated to developing "plot to plate" enterprises through consumer education and sustain- able growing practices. Marsha's vision for Sustainable Neighbors began around the concept of a grange. A grange was a place where farmers gathered to showcase their fresh produce and canned goods, to solve problems and to support each other in times of hardship. It was usually followed by a celebratory barn dance at the end of the season in gratitude for their abundance. She wanted to model this grassroots level of farming by "bringing the community together, enjoying the wonderful food that comes straight out of the garden we locally grew and have a barn dance." She elaborated, "I put Sustainable Neighbors together because I envisioned every neighborhood with people growing more food in their yards. Of course, not everyone is going to be an urban farmer, but if there were more people growing food in their yard and selling it to their neighbors, we could create more jobs, have a greater food economy and increase our local economy. We are very food insecure here." C OUN T O N Businesses trust Cavin's, as they have for nearly 60 years. We've kept pace with the remarkable advances in our field to expand and serve a variety of business needs. And we've never wavered from providing top-quality, dependable products and the knowledgeable, reliable and responsive service that sets us apart. • Office equipment and nationally-awarded technical service • On-site IT and customized network support • Document and print management services for extraordinary efficiency and cost savings Contact Cavin's today. 910-485-5151 • CavinsBiz.com

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