The Project

Inspired by the Victory Gardens of World War II, artist Amy Franceschini brought back the food producing vegetable gardens within a modern and artistic context. I worked with Amy Francischini (in my role as Executive Director at Garden for the Environment) to garner City support and launch a Citywide pilot program to build Victory Gardens in residential backyards. 

The idea caught fire, resonating deeply in the public consciousness of the moment. So much so, in fact, that when the idea for Slow Food Nation 2008 was being cultivated, Alice Waters asked then San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom - on stage before hundreds - “can we could have a Victory Garden in front of City Hall?” More than a bit surprised he consented saying…”I can’t say no...” 

The resulting City Hall Victory Garden was wildly successful, a once in a generation project born from an incredible team at the perfect moment. With the City’s permission, Alice’s Waters blessing and funding from Slow Food Nation, landscape architect and urbanist John Bela designed and built the incredible garden with the help of thousands of volunteers. Over the course of Slow Food Nation more than 50,000 people would visit the Victory Garden. I supported operations, procurement and educational programming while John did everything associated with building the garden, from bulldozing the sod grass to planting and harvesting (to this day, the site remains covered in the decomposed granite we installed in 2008). 

After the Victory Garden was removed Mayor Newsom issued an Executive Directive on Healthy and Sustainable Food, asking City departments to identify land which could be made available for urban agriculture and asking the City to approach food policy comprehensively. Artist Amy Franceschini would go on to share the Victory Garden project with museum exhibits and a book.  

Press

• Remembering the Victory Garden, San Francisco Chronicle

• San Francisco’s Victory Garden Project Grows a Community, Los Angeles Times

• Let’s hear it for vegetables, Guardian UK

• The Victory Garden, Episode 33, PBS

• Designing Victory Gardens, Civil Eats

Project Team

• Artist: Amy Franceschini

• Director, Blair Randall, Garden for the Environment

• Landscape Architect: John Bela