Cadillac Urban Gardens

Cadillac Urban Gardens Grows and Provides Free Vegetables and Herbs to Help Fight Food Insecurity in Southwest Detroit | Eater Detroit

"Once an abandoned executive parking lot, the site was transformed by volunteers into a vibrant community garden with 332 repurposed shipping-container raised beds (now replicated across 31 plots), removal of 8.75 tons of scrap metal, and thousands of plants established since 2012. Operating as a partnership with General Motors, the Ideal Group, and the Southwest Detroit Environmental Division, the garden emphasizes community control of food production, sustainable zero-waste practices, composting, and efficient water strategies while offering youth programs, educational classes, and volunteer opportunities. Organizers—including long-time volunteer and sustainability specialist Dolores Perales—solicit resident input on what and how much to grow, and distribute harvests via scheduled walk-ups and pick-ups, donations to Detroit Community Fridge and Brilliant Detroit, and local pop-ups; despite pandemic delays, the project produced about 3,500 pounds of free produce in 2020. Crops are grown in themed beds—“greenways” for lettuces, kale, cabbages, herbs and peas, and “tomato lanes” for Big Boy, Early Girl, beefsteak and cherry varieties—with companion planting such as basil and parsley to aid pollination. Located at 4601 Merritt Street in Southwest Detroit, the garden is framed as a community-led, resilient effort to provide equitable access to fresh produce and to plan sustainably for future seasons." - Courtney Burk