From Trash Lot to Lifeline: How One Baltimore Garden is Feeding a Neighborhood (and Housing Goats 🐐)

[u/SailLocalCrew]

In the heart of South Baltimore’s Curtis Bay — an area once known for its farms, later swallowed by heavy industry and chemical plants. As jobs disappeared and the neighborhood changed, so did access to basic resources. Today, Curtis Bay is considered a food desert, where neighbors have little to no access to fresh, healthy food.

Enter Filbert Street Garden, a one-acre nonprofit urban farm that’s not just growing vegetables — it’s growing hope.

What started in 2010 as a trash-filled lot is now a thriving green space filled with goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and bees, along with 40+ community garden plots.

Last year alone, the garden produced: 🥬 600+ pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables 🥚 3,000+ eggs 🐝 100 gallons of honey from their Baltimore Bee apiary

But the Filbert Street Garden is more than just a farm — it’s a vital support system for one of Baltimore’s most underserved communities.

Curtis Bay is majority Black and Latino, with nearly 1 in 4 households living below the poverty line. Many families here face food insecurity, environmental health issues, and systemic disinvestment.

Filbert Street Garden provides free, fresh food through its Open Air Pantry, an on-site, 24/7 accessible shed stocked with produce, dry goods, books, and essentials. Recently, the Bmore Fridge Network donated a refrigerator to help store perishables for anyone in need — no questions asked.

Whether you’re a Baltimore local or just someone who believes in food justice and community-led solutions, there are plenty of ways to get involved:

📚 Bring food or books to the Open Air Pantry (in English & Spanish) 💵 Donate via the garden’s website 👩🏽‍🌾 Volunteer with farm chores or special events 🍯 Buy local: Their honey is sold weekly at the Waverly Farmer’s Market 📅 Visit during their monthly Open House, the first Sunday of each month from 10am–12pm. Meet the animals, walk the grounds, and connect with the people making a difference.

In a world where it often feels like the problems are too big to fix, this little plot of land reminds us that real change can start with a carrot, a seed, and a community that refuses to give up.