In 2020, Jack Ferguson wondered what the church could do with a vacant lot. Originally, the lot in which the community garden now sits was a bookstore in the late 50s, but Jack wondered what else he could do to revitalize the unused lot. When developing a plan to rejuvenate the lot, Jack stated, “We need to have a garden, a track, some place of tranquility, something that benefits everybody.” Jack’s first idea of a community garden was to develop an oasis of food and community that perfectly encapsulated the beauty of Downtown. Jack’s goal in proposing this concept to the church’s board was to fight back against food deserts and inequality within Downtown Norfolk as well as mass seclusion amidst the pandemic. 

One of the main concepts that Jack pushed for in the development of the garden was an emphasis on allowing the members of the community to make their own decisions. Jack stated, “If it’s going to be a community garden, it needs to let the community do what it’s going to do.” From day one, Jack envisioned the community garden would be run and managed by the people who took care of it. Even though the Freemason Baptist Church provided much of the necessary land to jumpstart the project, they had little to no influence on the community garden’s development following its conception. 

With the immense help from members of the Civic League, such as the current Co-founder, John Miller, the development of the community garden not only succeeded but thrived as well. The community garden ended up growing to one of the largest in its region, which was no doubt because of the overwhelming support from members of the Downtown Norfolk Community. However, Jack’s push for community development didn’t stop at the garden.

In addition to his work on the community garden project, Jack has also partnered and worked with organizations such as the Norfolk Street Choir Project, Ghent Area Ministries, Loving Steps, Shark City, Narcotics Anonymous, and many more. The goal of these collaborative efforts was not only to bring the community of Downtown Norfolk together, but to assist low-income families and assist in efforts to prevent homelessness. As Jack continues his work around Downtown Norfolk, he states, “The whole idea of this is to give back, to reach out, and to see what we can do.”