On a serious note, theft at our little community garden is a hot button issue right now. We have had several of our garden renters report theft. Not just a cucumber here or a tomato there but people bringing plastic bags and buggys and actually shopping the beds. If people had to eat only what they could grow our world would be a totally different place. Many hours of tilling, planting, weeding, and care go into a small 3 X 6 garden plot and only a handful of them are small. Many of patrons are also seniors and/or handicapped and put forth more effort than an average grower as well and it is those that my heart hurts for the most. Two weeks ago we started receiving phone calls from a parton that lives across the road from the garden, she reported theft from her bed and several others and I reluctantly called the police to ask if anything could be done to protect the garden. I was informed that it is a public park and unless we caught them in the act and could call the police and they catch them in the act that there is really nothing we could do, and it stinks. I want to offer restitution, put up security cameras, hire a guard, but we do not have the funding for all that. Since then we have had two more people call the police and several more plants, even the cabbage I grow for our CSA program fell victim. My heart goes out to those that are hungry but I have yet to determine if I think these people were hungry or just careless, some food was left to waste on the ground because they could not carry it all and fumbled it when another patron approached to ask what was going on. I would like your thoughts as to weather a pick your own bed could be an option to discourage people from taking others things or if I would only create more havoc. Help………..
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