Seattle now has 82 neighborhood pea patches, 24 of which are new or expanded, thanks to a voter-approved parks levy in 2008. The city estimates at least six thousand gardeners are actively involved, and says many more enjoy the spirit they bring to the community.

Rich MacDonald with the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods says since the P-Patch program first started decades ago, it has inspired a local movement of urban agriculture, with people adding everything from bees to chickens, to goats to their plots. He says most of the P-Patches also have gardening beds that are devoted to supplying food banks.

http://www.kplu.org/post/seattle-setting-example-community-gardens-nationwide