Jennifer West swaps her Crocs for work boots and adjusts her gloves to prepare for another day tending the land at a pair of vibrant green plots flanking Whitelock Street. On one side sit a greenhouse and stone benches; on the other, rows of vegetables, picnic tables, a community fridge and a brightly colored sign welcoming neighbors to Whitelock Community Farm.

A young woman calls from the sidewalk: “Do you have any greens?” With her toddler in tow, the woman waits while West quickly gathers a bag of fresh vegetables, no payment required. It’s a simple exchange: a neighbor feeding her family with food grown by and for the community. It’s also a living response to some of today’s most pressing questions about food access and sustainability.

This Reservoir Hill farm, located in an area once classified as a “food desert” or, more aptly, a “healthy food priority area,” isn’t here to sell produce. It gives it away. But West, who has managed the farm solo for the past year, knew from the start she couldn’t do it alone. A farm rooted in the community must be sustained by it.

Enter Olu Butterfly Woods, founder and director of Garden Art Party. The initiative blends art, environmental education and food sustainability through inclusive, joy-filled, free community gatherings. Hosted on urban farms across Baltimore, these events unite residents around shared goals of health and self-reliance.

At first, art and farming might seem like an unlikely pair. But at Garden Art Party the connection is seamless and powerful. In cities nationwide facing the compounded crises of food insecurity, climate change and social isolation, the intersection of art, urban farming and community empowerment offers a replicable, scalable model.

“The vegetables solve the food problem,” Woods said of the unexpected burst of life — part farm, part classroom, part sanctuary — in the middle of a residential neighborhood. “But the art solves the people problem.”

Each event feels like a homecoming. Neighbors of all ages come together to enjoy meals made from local harvests, create crafts from natural materials and learn how to care for the earth and their bodies. Activities range from crafting wind chimes with repurposed items to making lemon balm to aid with inflammation and anxiety, all while dancing to live local music.

Dirk Joseph, art director for Garden Art Party, explained it simply: “We teach people how to forage with respect. We create beauty from what’s already around us. And we make sure folks leave knowing these green spaces belong to them. When you own something, you take care of it.”

Residents like Miss Pam, who has lived in Reservoir Hill for 16 years, now grow produce at home. “My front yard gets the most sun,” she said with a laugh, adding that she’s not quite at Farmer Jen’s level yet. “This is better than Whole Foods. This is ours.”

Urban farmer Sachae Jones considers herself a Garden Art Party doula of sorts, guiding people along the path of mental and physical wellness that these outlets can provide. She recalled teaching residents to make antifungal salves from black walnuts — long considered little more than a nuisance.

“We turned a problem into a solution,” Jones said. “We’re reclaiming what we’ve been taught to overlook.”

This Garden Art Party movement is about growing agency as much as it is growing tomatoes. It’s about knowing your neighbor’s name. It’s about seeing land not as a dividing line but as a connection.

There’s a reason people keep showing up. A reason a child carries home a chickpea dish to share. A reason what once were vacant lots now pulse with color, flavor and life.

“People come to build something real,” Woods said. “They bring their children, parents, grandparents and siblings. It became something so much bigger. It became a party and a movement.”

The next Garden Art Party will be held Oct. 25 from 1-5 p.m. at the Victorine Q. Adams Memorial Garden. The event is free. For more information, visit gardenartparty.com or follow @gardenartpartybmore on social media.

LaDawn Black is a Baltimore-based media maven, author and cultural commentator. Follow her @teasebyladawn for sharp takes on love, art, reality TV and everything worth talking about in Bmore and beyond.