A frequent stop for bike clubs needing a nutritious bite. A place for educating others. The heart of the community.
Each is a description of the community garden at the center of the Porters Quarters Community, said Erinesha Hamilton, as she peeled roselles alongside her daughter Ava in the garden.
“The leadership of the community garden has changed hands,” Hamilton said. “But my goal in being here has always been to try to make it feel like community.”
Hamilton no longer lives in Porters Quarters, but she spends a lot of her time there, spreading the word about nutrition and healthful foods, with a focus on the community garden, also known as the Porters Quarters Community Farm, which has been growing since 2012.
Through her company, Slick Garden, Hamilton hosts garden workshops and festivals that provide access to educational and hands-on learning experiences.
And in these times of rising food prices and growing food insecurity, this knowledge is priceless.
For the past ten years, Alachua County’s food-insecurity rates have fluctuated. In 2014, it peaked at 20.4 % of the approximate 255,000 population. And it dropped to 11.1% of the estimated 279,000 residents living in the county in 2021, according to the Florida Department of Health.
But the latest statistics available from 2023 show that food insecurity is on the rise again affecting 15.2% of the county’s 289,000 population. While still lower than in 2014, food insecurity in Alachua County is higher than the 14.4 % average across the Sunshine State.
Cooking for community
Late last month, the garden held its third annual fall festival, where food and fresh produce were for sale as music played and families participated in activities.
These festivals inspire participation by community members like Ashley Allen-Jones.
Allen-Jones’ first festival in Porters Quarters was April 2025.
“It was my first time, at one of these festivals, where I was setting up and cooking for a crowd,” said Ashley Allen-Jones. “And I sold out all my food.”
The Porters Quarter resident said she found comfort in a specific garden spot under a shaded tree where she sold her home cooking — chicken skewers, hibachi rice and kebabs.
With seven years of experience in Gainesville's food industry, Allen-Jones said she dreams of starting her own food business and is leaning on the farmers’ markets to get it off the ground.
“My plan is to be one of the food vendors at every market,” said Allen-Jones, who has lived in Porters Quarter for half of her 31-year life.
“One thing about community is we all like to come together,” she added. “And what is better to bring people together than good food.”
“Village” in her backyard
The community garden sits adjacent to Anunaku Osceola’s backyard, or what she calls her “village.”
In her backyard, Osceola hosts weekly “Sky Above” dinners, a three-course meal paired with wine and served for $100 per couple. The firepit, candle-lit tables and endless greenery is her safe space that she shares with her customers.
“My goal is not so much to feed people in the capacity of food, growing and farming,” said Osceola, who moved to the Porters Quarters neighborhood of Gainesville about three years ago.
“My thing is to make sure that there is financial sustainability to make sure that everybody is cared for.”
Osceola's culinary knowledge is mostly self-taught. She often incorporates produce from the Porters Quarters garden into her meals, prioritizing fresh, local ingredients.
“It was refreshing to get a home cooked meal in the backyard of a community leader,” said Ariana Aragon, reflecting on her two times at the Sky Above dinners.
There was an overwhelming sense of trust between Aragon and the other guest in the village, she said.
“It was easy to talk with strangers around the fire knowing they were invited by Anunaku,” Aragon said.
When Osceola first arrived in Porters Quarters, she leaned on the garden for kale but slowly began to explore other vegetables as the seasons changed.
“What I discovered about eggplant!” she said. “I created some ridiculous recipes around an eggplant.”
From the flames of the circular fire pit to the bistro lights hanging over tables and chairs in her backyard, Osceola aims to create a peaceful gathering place for members of the community.
“It’s also overall holistic wellness,” Osceola said. “Get your hands in the garden and come sit in the village. It’s a whole thing.”
A healthy outlook
Hamilton attended a program at the Pleasant Street Civil Rights and Cultural Arts Center focused on the Food is Medicine program, a collaboration among the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the Center for Arts in Medicine and the Center for Arts, Migration + Entrepreneurship.
She attended sessions run by Pastor Gerard Duncan and Jarell Whitehead. The program, facilitated by Duncan, helps people access nutritious foods while teaching the importance of healthier eating habits.
The program is currently operating through personal funds after funding through the Amgen Foundation recently ended, Duncan said.
The funding came from the Health Equity Challenge Grant that the Pleasant Street Civil Rights and Cultural Arts Center received in 2024.
Jarell Whitehead, Duncan’s assistant and one of the instructors for the program, said the effort to prioritize education in the community grew out of a clear need among Gainesville residents.
The program now offers classes for about 50 participants at a time and currently has a waitlist of people hoping to join.
“We recognized that in certain communities a lot of people were suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high A1C,” Whitehead said. “So, we tried to really dive in and find out what was causing those issues.”
The Pleasant Street Civil Rights and Cultural Arts Center addresses the injustice that is seen in food insecurity through grants like the Health Equity Challenge.
The Food is Medicine program helped the members discover that a major root cause was a lack of knowledge, education and access to more nutritious foods.
“Shopping in a grocery store can be kind of discouraging,” he said.
When it comes to shopping, Osceola admits she tends to buy foods at the supermarkets, but she always tries to utilize the community garden to her advantage. If it were up to her, she said, she would want gardens in everyone’s yard.
“I’m not saying it hasn’t happened yet, but I don’t see it yet,” she said. “We’re not done.”