Marcia in 2006, on the site that would become the Phoenix Community Garden

Visitors to the garden know Marcia Denson as always ready with a joke and a piece of fruit in her hand for children. Marcia was the community chef at Neighbors Together for 16 years. It was there that her commitment to food justice solidified. "By working in the soup kitchen, you see that everybody is not getting the same nutritious food all over the city, particularly senior citizens and small children. "

In 2006, the Green Guerillas, a citywide support and advocacy group for community gardens, approached Marcia to be a founding member of what was to be Phoenix Community Garden. The city had made our land available, and the Green Guerillas had been charged with the community organizing to pull a membership together. Marcia says, "It's funny—I grew up growing vegetables, and when I left the farm in North Carolina, I vowed never to do it again. But after that first meeting, I was raring to go." All along, she fantasized about starting a farm stand. "I wanted to do a farm stand for a while, but I kept it to myself. But when I retired, I had the time. So I approached a couple other garden members—Kelly and Mark. Ocean Hill is a food desert, and we were in a position to bring fresh, nutritious food to the neighborhood."

She is happy with how it turned out. "The experience has been fantastic. When we first started, there were stumbling blocks. But especially now with the Phoenix Fresh Food Box program, we’ve been able to bring fresh produce year-round. It’s been an opportunity to meet our neighbors, and for them to get to know who we are. And it’s been getting better all the time."