1. Works
Department of Public
Community Gardens
Department of Public Works
Mohammed Nuru, Deputy Director for
Operations
San Francisco Department of Public Works
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2. How did Community Gardens begin in San
Francisco?
•During World War II the Government
encouraged families to grow their own
fruits and vegetables
•Termed “Victory Gardens”, over 20
million Americans joined the efforts
and began growing fruits and
vegetables in their backyards and on
public land.
•In this photo, a group of women are
growing spinach on public land
between 15th & 16th Avenue near
Fulton & Cabrillo in San Francisco
Photo: One of the first Victory Gardens in San Francisco in 1943

3. How were community gardens able to expand?
•In 1975 CETA, the
Comprehensive Employment
and Training Act, a federal
program granted 20 gardening
jobs to the SF Art Commission
•20 employees were hired &
involved in establishing on-going
programs in 25 schools, five
housing projects and many day
care centers and community
gardens, including the Fort
Mason Garden, shown here.
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Photo: Fort Mason Garden

4. Community Gardens in San Francisco
Through the decades:
•People gardened for recreation
•Guidelines around public gardens
were developed
•Gardens became ADA accessible
•San Francisco‟s League of Urban
Gardeners (SLUG) provided
education classes in
horticulture, landscape construction &
open space maintenance.
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Photo: Tom Bressan, Owner of Urban Farmer providing irrigation workshop in Visitation Valley Greenway „10

5. Community Gardens in San Francisco
•During the SLUG era, gardens
were built on prime real estate
sites including:
•Easements
•Senior housing
•Schools
•Churches
•Gardens became more
sophisticated through the years
and provided:
•Seating areas
•Dog runs
•Educational signage
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Photo: Alemany Farm „01

6. Community Gardens in San Francisco
•Hundreds of gardens exist on public land
throughout San Francisco. DPW has 120
parcels of land we‟ve transformed into gardens
through our Street Parks Program.
•Our goal is to use more land for food production
and donate extra food to the needy.
•In San Francisco alone150,000 people access
the Food Bank each day.
•DPW created a Gleaning Program and has been
donating fruits and vegetables to our local Food
Bank.
•As the number of people who go to the food
bank increases, gleaning programs will continue
to be in high demand. 6
Photo: DPW‟s Gleaning Program