National Right to Garden Act.

Published March 2nd, 2025.

America needs a national right to garden law to ensure local food security.

In 2019, Florida Governor Ron Desantis signed CS/SB 82 to prohibit local governments from regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties. in 2021, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed HB 633, the Illinois Vegetable Garden Protection Act. In 2021, Maine added the Right to Food in Constitution Article 25. You can read the full text of these acts below the form.

Many Americans face local government regulations and homeowners associations that bar them from growing food on their owned or rented property. As food prices continue to rise, outbreaks spread, and corporations further centralize food supply chains, one thing is abundantly clear. America's food systems are incredibly fragile. National right to garden legislation is needed to safeguard our ability to grow vegetables, herbs, and fruit at home. I am actively contacting federal representatives and agencies to push for national right to garden legislation to be introduced.

You can contact your representatives to bring this to their attention. Here is a full list of US House Representatives and their contact information. Here is a full list of US Senators and their contact information. You can use the following statistics when speaking with representatives to emphasize the gravity of our current local food sovereignty issues.

1). For 85% of groceries, four firms or fewer controlled the majority market share.

2). Food prices have increased by 31% since 2019.

3). Food travels an average 1,494 miles to get from farms to grocery store shelves.

4). Four companies – Walmart, Costco, Kroger and Ahold Delhaize – control 65% of the retail grocery market.

5). 13.5% (18.0 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2023.

6). U.S. food Recalls increased by 20% between 2020 and 2023.

You can also submit a signature and comment below that I will use to show support for the national right to garden movement.

National Right to Garden Petition

Enter a signature and comment to show support for a national right to garden law. The submissions will be anonymized.

Florida SB 82. An act relating to vegetable gardens; creating s.604.71, F.S.; providing legislative intent; prohibiting local governments from regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties except as otherwise provided by law; specifying that such regulations are void and unenforceable; specifying exceptions; providing applicability; defining the term “vegetable garden”; providing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

Section 1. Section 604.71, Florida Statutes, is created to read: Local regulation of vegetable gardens.—
(1) The Legislature intends to encourage the development of sustainable cultivation of vegetables and fruits at all levels of production, including for personal consumption, as an important interest of the state.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by law, a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state may not regulate vegetable gardens on residential properties. Any such local ordinance or regulation regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties is void and unenforceable.

(3) This section does not preclude the adoption of a local ordinance or regulation of a general nature that does not specifically regulate vegetable gardens, including, but not limited to, regulations and ordinances relating to water use during drought conditions, fertilizer use, or control of invasive species.

(4) As used in this section, the term “vegetable garden” means a plot of ground where herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables are cultivated for human ingestion. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.

Illinois Garden Act

(505 ILCS 87/1) Sec. 1.Short title.This Act may be cited as theGarden Act.(Source: P.A. 102-180, eff. 1-1-22.)

(505 ILCS 87/5)Sec. 5.Purpose.The Act's purpose is to encourage and protect the sustainable cultivation of fresh produce at all levels of production, including on residential property for personal consumption or non-commercial sharing.(Source: P.A. 102-180, eff. 1-1-22.)

(505 ILCS 87/10)Sec. 10.Vegetable garden defined.As used in this Act, the term "vegetable garden" means any plot of ground or elevated soil bed on residential property where vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, pollinator plants, leafy greens, or other edible plants are cultivated.(Source: P.A. 102-180, eff. 1-1-22.)

(505 ILCS 87/15)Sec. 15.Right to cultivate vegetable gardens.Notwithstanding any other law, any person may cultivate vegetable gardens on their own property, or on the private property of another with the permission of the owner, in any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state.(Source: P.A. 102-180, eff. 1-1-22.)

(505 ILCS 87/20)Sec. 20.Home rule.A home rule unit may not regulate gardens in a manner inconsistent with this Act. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.(Source: P.A. 102-180, eff. 1-1-22.)

(505 ILCS 87/25)Sec. 25.State and local regulation still permitted.Section 20 of this Act notwithstanding, this Act does not preclude the adoption of a regulation or local ordinance of general nature that does not specifically regulate vegetable gardens, including, but not limited to, regulations and ordinances relating to height, setback, water use, fertilizer use, or control of invasive or unlawful species, provided that any such regulation or ordinance does not have the effect of precluding vegetable gardens.(Source: P.A. 102-180, eff. 1-1-22.)

Florida Constitution, Art. I, §25 is enacted to read:
Section 25. Right to food. All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to save and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being, as long as an individual does not commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property rights, public lands or natural resources in the harvesting, production or acquisition of food.

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