Hood College of Frederick Maryland

The Frederick Food Security Network (FFSN) is a community gardening program developed by Hood College. Since its beginning in 2017, we have been successfully working with community partners to establish a network of gardens in Frederick, MD with three goals in mind. We aim to: 1) improve food security for residents of local food deserts; 2) promote food justice and healthful eating habits in the Frederick community; and 3) reduce local water pollution by diverting rooftop runoff for use as irrigation. Food insecurity is an important community concern in Frederick. In 2015, approximately 17,000 individuals in Frederick County were classified as “food insecure,” including over 9,000 children. In order to combat this issue, Hood College created the FFSN, which meets community needs by functioning as a support resource for existing and new gardens alike. We provide this support by helping our partners secure ongoing funding and donations; overseeing garden planning and construction; leveraging the purchasing power of several garden sites to secure bulk supplies at a lower cost, helping recruit volunteers and provide volunteer management training; maximizing the efficiency of food distribution; offering garden trainings and regular roundtable discussions; and providing a common source of no-cost seedlings for planting.