This project has grown from the urban residence of Dr. Sarah N. Gatson, in Bryan, TX (a townhome on a 1/4 acre lot, with about 1500 square feet of growing space). Since 2011, she and her family have been converting their lawn and other areas of their property into food production space. At first only a small herb garden, Dr. Gatson’s professional focus on the sociology of community, citizenship, identity and culture lead her to the development of a food gardening project.
As students and faculty at Texas A&M University, we work from a service-learning advocacy perspective. As community members in various locations (social and geographic) around the Brazos Valley, the influence of TAMU is both central and marginal to our lives. As ethnographers and autoethnographers, we tack back and forth from these two poles of identification in an attempt to capture what community means to all of us.
By focusing on food, our project understands the phrase “Everybody eats” in two ways — as both a recognition of our common needs, and an imperative of social life, policy, and community: “C’mon, everybody eats.” & “Everybody eats!” Join us on our journey!
IRB #2013-0764D