What was the inspiration behind One Seed Community Garden?
We came up with the idea of using an empty lot in Old Town Tustin and turning it into a community garden so we can donate the produce to our local food bank. The emotional benefits of being able to connect with food in that way and get dirty and have an impact—you can’t quantify that. How do you count the goodwill?
What’s it been like running a bookstore for the past five years?
There were things in the business plan, and we’ve done so much more—things that are tangible on paper and then things that are intangible, like the human connection. There was a couple that got engaged in front of the bookstore because they had their first date here. Something that I didn’t anticipate was being invited to hold witness to people’s lives. That was not in the plan, you know? I didn’t realize how much that was going to mean to me.
Where does your passion for literature-centered community-building stem from?
Reading is such a path to empathy, especially the way a book club format works. Everybody has individually gone on a journey reading the book and then, every week, sits down at the table and brings complete earnestness, wanting to discuss that journey and understand other people’s perspectives on that journey. At a time when we’re dealing with such huge global issues, there’s comfort in the fact that we can connect over small things. Those small moments, we really need to protect them and fight for them. It helps us see each other’s humanity, and I think we need that now more than ever.
FIND OUT MORE!
oneseedcommunitygarden.com
arvidabookco.com
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