Charles Koiner Conservancy grows food and a sense of place
Urban Food Farming Builds Community
Charles Koiner Conservancy grows food and a sense of place
by melane kinney Hoffmann
Rows of raised beds at Loiderman Farm produce abundant food for the community.
As Montgomery County strives to produce more table crops locally to help residents gain direct access to healthy food, few would expect to find a flourishing farm just blocks away from the bustling heart of downtown Silver Spring. The Charles Koiner Conservancy is truly unique— a small but mighty one-acre farm plot that produces abundant food, and a beloved community gathering space— amid densely developed high-rises. Along with creative expansion to other sites such as schools and senior living centers, The Koiner Conservancy is a model that shows us how bringing farming close to people can not only maximize the use of land for healthy food, but also create shared spaces that nurture collaboration and belonging.
After growing up in Rockville when family farming was the norm and much of the county was still rural, Charles Koiner purchased his acre in Silver Spring more than 40 years ago when suburban sprawl was beginning to push farming further away from the population. Even as the Ag Reserve was being set aside in the Upcounty, Charles was determined to keep farming close to his down-county family and neighbors, and resisted societal and financial pressure to sell any of his five buildable parcels, although he paid high residential property taxes on them. With dense planting, attentive care for the soil, and thoughtful seasonal crop rotation, he managed to provide fresh produce almost year‘ round. When Charlie passed away in 2019 at age 98 after spending an afternoon ordering seeds and
10 plenty I autumn harvest 2026