ABSTRACT
Karen Washington grew up in New York City (NYC) and have been growing food in the Bronx for over 28 years. Her life has been a journey from a little girl growing up in the projects to an activist for social and food justice. Lately she have seen the food movement make claims about working towards a just and equitable food system and slowly watch it fail along racial and socio economic divisions. She hear people use the term 'green washed' when talking about the larger sustainability movement, she beg to differ because to her it remains 'whitewashed'. As a result of community activism, the New York City Community Garden Coaltion and La Familia Verde Community Garden Coalition were formed. NYC community gardeners had an agreement with the city that lasted 10 years. The agreement expired 2010, as the New York City Parks and Recreation Dept. took over and started offering 2 year renewal garden leases.
