Your Chicago: Peterson Garden Project
(CBS) – It's a place to learn to cook the food you grow.
The Peterson Garden Project started in 2010 and has blossomed in the past five years, from one community garden to a food movement.
CBS 2's Kate Sullivan reports.
At the Broadway Armory, a class in dumpling-making is in the capable hands of Dong Dong Chen. She's not an expert. She's a home cook with a culinary degree who has been making delicious Chinese dumplings for decades.
She volunteered to teach the Art of the Dumpling, one of many classes the Peterson Garden Project offers.
Lamanda Joy started the project five years ago to re-introduce the concept of "victory gardens" to Chicago.
"I had 'Greatest Generation' parents, and I knew how to grow food because of my parents. I thought people are interested in growing foods," Joy says.
It grew from one garden to eight. Now, they take it one step further and show people how to cook the food they grow.
"It's a different skill set that we found people just didn't have," Joy says.
Last year alone, 1,000 people volunteered to make this project flourish. Former chef Lindsay Shephard is now a full-time staff member after years of volunteering.
If you would like to take one of their cooking classes or get involved with a community food garden, click here for more information.