Interview with Bianca
Local Jacksonville gardener said compost is the key ingredient to making her plants delicious and healthy enough to give away to the community in her mission to end hunger. Gardening activist Bianca Madaffari is a part a the non-profit organization called the Food is Free Project which aims to connect neighbors through gardening and harvesting food that is available to everyone. Through her experience with this organization, Madaffari has learned that to have a successful garden you need to love and care for your plants, but using compost doesn’t hurt. By using vegetable scraps and other plant based items from her kitchen, Madaffari has been able to make her own compost while avoiding the use of chemicals. Madaffari has kept her garden as healthy as it can be while not letting anything go to waste. She says that anything that can decompose and attract bugs is a great thing to put into the soil. “A lot of people want to use chemicals on their plants because it’s easier and it gives you bigger plants, but if you have a good, solid compost you don’t need any chemicals at all to make any of your plants thrive,” said Madaffari. Madaffari’s desire to be a part of the Food is Free Project stemmed from her passion to end world hunger. The organizations self-guided mission allows people to grow food that is free to the public while bringing neighbors together. Madaffari says that the only regulation for this organization is that you share any extra harvest you have with the community. “You grow what you want and give away what you can,” said Madaffari. The organization is based out of Texas, but Madaffari says she looking to expand the project into the Jacksonville area and has already started to inspire some of her neighbor’s to join the mission. Adriana Jaramillo, who lives down the street from Madaffari, says that the Food is Free sign in Madaffari’s yard is what drove her to walk over to her neighbor’s house and ask about the organization. “It was a sign, literally and figuratively,” said Jaramillo. “I went to take out my trash and came back with tomato seeds.” Even though the following is small right now, Madaffari says she can already see the movement rippling out with her neighbor’s. Her next door neighbor Amy Tran just planted a citrus tree in her yard that she hopes will provide a nice amount of fruit for the neighborhood to enjoy. “I wanted to grow something other than tomatoes or peppers,” said Tran. “I figured fruit would be a good addition to Bianca’s vegetable garden and a yummy thing to share.” Getting involved with the Food is Free Project is a simple task said Madaffari. By either googling the Free if Food Project or going to the Food is Free Project Facebook page, you can find all the information you need to begin your journey of gardening and sharing harvest. “If you have any interest in gardening, then you should start doing it,” said Madaffari. “Don’t let anything hold you back.”
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February 2017
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