Raleigh's Well Fed Garden: Urban Permaculture Success Story

This article documents the Well Fed Community Garden in Raleigh, North Carolina, demonstrating how comprehensive permaculture design principles translate into functioning community gardens. The project began when the Gordons purchased property and applied for a permit from the City of Raleigh, then hired Will Hooker, a landscape architect and professor at NC State, to design a sustainable permaculture garden plan. The design includes diverse productive systems: fields and extension facilities for growing vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, herbs, flowers, and teas; a pollinator garden to sustain beehives for honey production; and a chicken coop for egg production. With help from the garden's first manager, Jenn Sanford-Johnson, and volunteers, the Gordons implemented the design and transformed the property into a functioning regenerative system. The garden's name, inspired by the discovery of an old well on the property, connects to the biblical passage 're-digging our father's wells' and symbolizes the food and wellness the garden provides for the neighborhood. The article also documents municipal support for urban agriculture: the city of Raleigh recognizes the benefits of urban agriculture and provides grants and free compost for community gardens. Urban agriculture has been included in the city's Community Climate Action Plan as a strategy to preserve green space and address equity and resilience. The city is exploring potential use of undevelopable surplus property for temporary or permanent community gardens as part of its updated strategic plan. For practitioners, this case study demonstrates how to integrate permaculture design principles into community gardens, secure municipal support and resources, and create multifunctional systems that produce diverse food while supporting pollinators and community wellbeing.