The Edible Churchyard @ Union Theological Seminary

 The Edible Churchyard is Union Theological Seminary’s response to one of the central ecological and economic justice issues of our time. The basic idea is simple: re-imagine churchyards and rooftops as gardens to revitalize communities, reclaim food-based knowledge, and nourish the land and our bodies. The Edible Churchyard connects present day environmental justice concerns with Union’s rich history pioneering and nurturing community justice efforts and leadership development.

There are a few reasons it is important that faith communities connect in with the burgeoning food movements. First, there are very few places that get a "captive audience" that returns every week--and faith communities are uniquely positioned to help raise awareness about food (in)justice.  In addition, there is a call to service that is a core principle of most faiths. In light of this, communities of faith are already at the forefront of emergency food programming (food pantries, soup kitchens, etc). They also tend to be some of the landholders, which is particularly important (i.e. unique) in urban areas. With this in mind, we seek to connect this availabiliy of land/space with pre-existing efforts to help mitigate food insecurity and revitalize communities in a nourishing, justice-oriented, and integrated way. 

The Edible Churchyard is currently training hundreds of seminarians to become proficient gardeners who have an understanding of the imperative to work for food justice. They can take these skills and call to action with them as future community leaders.