Free Little Seed Library
Mutual Aid Garden & Seed Exchange
2022 — Built
The Free Little Seed Library is a friendly neighborhood character perched in a restored prairie along the sidewalk, welcoming neighbors to pick up vegetable seeds from its juicy pink interior. This neighborhood agricultural amenity is part of broader mutual-aid garden at Garbage Hill Farm, "a small scale backyard artist-run urban farm on a post-industrial corridor serving Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood. The project models what is possible on a residential lot in an urban center. Garbage Hill Farm is committed to food justice and sovereignty through increasing local food access with a focus on community sustained agriculture, redistribution of food to neighbors, and donating fresh produce to local food pantries. The farm cultivates a culture of community foraging and self-production through hosting a publicly accessible micro-orchard with fruit and nut trees, a public berry patch, and self-harvest mutual aid garden" alongside this seed library. The seed library's signage and graphics translate into three languages that reflect the primary demographics of the neighborhood—English, Mandarin, and Spanish.
Garbage Hill Farm is co-located with the Side by Side BIPOC artist residency, a residential interiors project designed by Could Be Design.
Design: Could Be Design
Fabrication: Building Brown Workshop
Photography: Brian Griffin
