On April 26, CCC officially launched its first community garden plot at Freetown Farm in Columbia, a six-acre working farm stewarded by the Community Ecology Institute (CEI) that has become one of Howard County’s most vibrant hubs for food, education, and community connection. More than two dozen volunteers showed up to clear the plot, prep the soil, and get the first seedlings in the ground. Experienced gardeners stood alongside first-timers, and we all got our hands dirty.
The 1,350-square-foot plot sits in the farm’s market garden, and when fully producing, it will yield approximately 1,350 pounds of fresh produce each season that will go directly to the families we serve.
Why a Garden?
Since CCC’s founding, our work has centered on one core belief: that access to food is a human right, and that how we provide that food matters just as much as what we provide. For years, we have worked to ensure that the families who come to us leave with food that reflects their culture, their traditions, and their dignity.
But a garden offers something a pantry shelf alone cannot: fresh produce, picked at peak ripeness, with the full nutrient density nature intended. As Loni Cohen, who runs CEI’s Nourishing Gardens program, explained it to us: food that travels from field to distribution center to shelf has often been harvested weeks before it reaches its full nutritional potential. A local garden plot changes that equation entirely.
When we talk about food insecurity, we’re really talking about systems: who has access to land, to knowledge, to fresh food, to the time and stability that make growing possible. A garden plot at Freetown Farm doesn’t solve all of that on its own. But it gives us a physical place to practice a more intentional relationship with food. Our community deserves fresh, nourishing food grown with intent, care, and respect for the land.
A Partnership Rooted in Shared Mission
CCC’s relationship with CEI and Freetown Farm didn’t begin this spring. Years ago, Loni and her team installed a raised-bed garden at CCC’s original headquarters in the Columbia Flier building. It was a creative solution for a sloped, eroding hillside that transformed underused pavement into a productive growing space. When the opportunity came to join the market garden at Freetown Farm, it felt like a natural next chapter.
CEI has been growing food with and for Howard County communities since they began stewarding Freetown Farm in 2019. Through their Nourishing Gardens program, they’ve installed more than 70 gardens at schools, community centers, and public spaces across the county, connecting residents to the skills and the soil they need to grow their own food. They donate produce from the farm to four Howard County food pantries each season. Their model — teach people to grow, build the community that sustains the growing — reflects exactly the kind of long-term thinking that CCC believes in.
Want to get involved?
If you’re interested in volunteering at our garden plot, learning more about CEI’s community programs, or supporting CCC’s work in other ways, find out how you can support us here.
And if you find yourself near Freetown Farm on a Thursday evening, stop by for Free Food, Fire, and Friends — CEI’s weekly community gathering, every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Good food, good company, and a warm welcome for anyone who shows up.