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MEET OUR NEW GARDEN MANAGER
When the stars (or seasons) align
My name is Jessica Vaughn Martin (you can call me Jess) and I’m a mom, food journalist, gastronomic enthusiast and amateur gardener. I live here in Jefferson City, with my young family in an old bungalow, where I’m running out of space for my growing collection of vintage Missouri cookbooks and vegetable gardens.
It’s been said that I might wear too many hats, or say yes to too many things. And this is probably true. But something has been calling my heart to the garden, and specifically to the kind of garden that builds community. So after driving by the Common Ground building daily for the last few years, I sent an email to the team to see if there was a need for volunteers in the Spring. When I received a reply from Kate asking if I’d consider a leadership role in Common Ground’s community garden, I said yes—again. It felt a bit like the stars, or the seasons, had aligned.
How could I come up with any other answer? The mission of Common Ground’s community garden aligns with my own, in my personal life and in my professional world, where I write food stories that aim to lift up unheard voices. I wrote something close to Mother’s Day last Spring that I think illustrates this alignment.
I’ve loved watching my kids grow alongside our summer gardens. They remind me to take in the goodness of now. The beauty of watching things grow, slowly then quickly. The importance of nourishment, of patience, of love and care. From the first yellow flower to a vine ripened beauty, tomatoes - and kids - remind us that growth, progress, and potential are to be celebrated.
During Serve JC, I saw these three ideas in action. In three hours our team weeded, planned and planted nine garden beds at the Common Ground community garden. And in each of these newly sowed seeds I think we all see the potential for growth and progress – potential for community, connection, empowerment and dignity grown right here in this soil, in this neighborhood. And that was just the first day of the season! It’s something to celebrate. I’m really delighted to be a part of this longstanding project, alongside founding members of the CG community garden from Grace Episcopal Church, Common Ground, and MU Extension, and to learn and grow together this season.
Thank you for welcoming me into the community; I look forward to getting to know, grow, and garden with all y’all!
BIO
Jessica Vaughn Martin is a writer, food journalist, and gastronomic enthusiast.
She seeks out stories that center around the people involved in the industries of food and agriculture, and the idea of food as memory, tradition, and cultural roadmap. As a Missouri native and graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, she finds it particularly meaningful to share stories of her home state and its people, while also learning about the influences of other cultural traditions on the food of the Midwest and beyond.
For more than six years, Jessica regularly contributed content to Feast magazine with these notions in mind, first as a writer and then an editor for the mid-Missouri coverage area. Her work has also been featured via Food Network, Farm Journal, and other local publications. Jessica managed the Canned Peaches and River Town podcasts for mid-Missouri’s local NPR affiliate KBIA in 2024.
She is a cofounder of the food-focused media platform, Leftovers Community, which exists as a collaborative hub for food-minded creatives to unearth the roots of their work and celebrate the scraps of life: leftover food, words, and photos, overlooked places and unheard voices. In tandem, she writes an intermittent Substack newsletter on food, motherhood, and community called The Roots of it All.
She is also a cofounder of Missouri Women Who Write, a seasonal retreat series founded with the intent to grow community and support among women writers of all generations and genres.
Jessica lives in Jefferson City, Missouri, with her young family in an old bungalow, where she’s running out of space for her growing collection of vintage Missouri cookbooks and vegetable gardens.
The community garden started as a project of Grace Episcopal Church and has been run by neighborhood volunteers in recent years.
The community garden started as a project of Grace Episcopal Church and has been run by neighborhood volunteers in recent years.
Neighbors are welcome to participate in upkeep in the garden, and produce is free for all as it becomes ripe. Fresh-picked produce stored in the fridge can often be obtained by asking inside at the front desk!
Neighbors are welcome to participate in upkeep in the garden, and produce is free for all as it becomes ripe. Fresh-picked produce stored in the fridge can often be obtained by asking inside at the front desk!
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