During wartime , families often turned to “ victory gardens” to make up for the scarcity and expense of fresh food . Given the current economic troubles , there has been a renewed interest in growing-your-own .

Concerns about the use of pesticides and other food safety issues , and the debate over whether nutrition has been bred out of vegetables in favor of creating produce with longer shelf life , also are contributing to the blossoming of community gardens across the country .

Locally , United Community Family Services has joined the movement by hosting a community garden on its General Administration Building property at 34 East Town St . in Norwich .

This new , currently-forming community garden is funded through the regional Thames Valley Council for Community Action , with an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus grant . It will be designed to accommodate 10 families .

Starting a garden – whether in one’s own backyard or a more ambitious project such as a community garden with several plots – can be an intimidating project .

Locating a site , making sure the soil is safe for gardening , finding a water supply , complying with local regulations , establishing rules for the members of a community garden – all of this can be daunting , and each project is going to have its own unique set of challenges .

To help communities deal with the nuts and bolts of getting their own garden started , a network of experts has come together called the Community Harvest Network of New London , or CHN .

CHN’s goal is to help create community gardens at no less than 90 sites in New London County over the next five years, according to CHN Program Coordinator Dave Fairman . The UCFS garden is one of them .

If organized and run well , community gardens can make a significant contribution to a family’s diet and lower grocery bills , Fairman said .

“ A single mother can produce $ 500 of free vegetables , and at the same time , build a stronger bond with her children , ” Fairman said .

Well-run community gardens also provide an opportunity to bring in some extra cash by selling some of the produce , he added , and pointed to a group called F . R . E . S . H . ( short for “ Food : Resources , Education , Security , Health” ) as a successful model .

In fact , F . R . E . S . H . is one of the founding partners of the Community Harvest Network , which also includes the Ledge Light Health District and the New London Group .

Together , they and other volunteers ( such as members of the state Master Gardener program ) help community gardeners from the outset with site evaluation and preparation , tools and training , construction , composting and use of offsite greenhouses for growing produce year-round.

CHN also offers best-practices in terms of community education , outreach , marketing and record-keeping .

The group is very excited about working with UCFS , Fairman said . “ There’s a field behind their offices and it’s a good site . The plots will be about 10-by-10 feet and there will be room to expand , ” he said .

The Ledge Light Health District also will help teach the community garden participants about safely canning and freezing their crops , so that they have access to the food year-round.

The project is “ a great marriage” between UCFS and TVCCA , said TVCCA Chief of Operations Mary Lou Underwood .

“ Our intent is to help in the community , first and foremost with the creation of jobs … but there was an [ ARRA grant ] category for community gardens and we saw this as a way of showing people how to be more self-sufficient … It’s one thing to say , “ Here’s a bag of groceries , ’ and another to show them how to grow their own food , ” Underwood said .

“ Not everyone is going to want to do this , but when someone comes to us with concerns about their grocery dollars , we can say , ‘ Here’s something else youcan try , ’” she said .

“ But it’s more than just planting a garden . They also will learn about nutrition and how to preserve food . So , it’s looking at things more holistically , ” Underwood said .

“ And some people have never had this kind of experience , so they will find out that youdon’t have to live in the country where there’s a lot of land – youcan have a garden in the city , ” she said .

A community garden is a perfect fit for an organization like UCFS , said Director of Marketing and Development Pam Kinder . “ We are about health and wellbeing , and good food , obviously , is at the core of that , ” she said . “ And the people we serve are the people who can make use of a community garden . ”

Echoing Underwood’s observation , Kinder noted that gardens have a way of creating connections between people . “ The families can bond and assist each other , so it’s more than a garden , ” she said .

For information about getting a plot in the UCFS community garden , call David Fairman at 860-857-1269 or e-mail CommunityHarvestNetwork@gmail . com .