Food Not Lawns

The first group to use the name "Food Not Lawns" was founded in Eugene, Oregon in 1999[1] by Tobias Policha, Nick Routledge, and Heather Jo Flores.

In 2006, Flores published the book Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community.

[2] A self-described "avant-gardening collective",[3] FNL's basic premise was to garner surplus resources, whether food, seeds, plants, tools, garden space, publications, or volunteer time, and channel them toward building better food security for the community at hand.

[4] Anyone is free to start a Food Not Lawns group, and resources are provided through an interconnected network.

Food Not Lawns chapters typically organize local seed swap events, build community gardens, generate web or print publications,[5] and host work parties to help community members turn their lawns into gardens.