Community Gardens Are Growing Strong
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
A whole new crop of community gardens is sprouting up in west Georgia.
Last year’s community gardens in local parks were such a success that Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well initiative took the project to a whole new level this spring. Through an application process, Get Healthy, Live Well selected 11 community partners who received support to start their own gardens.
These community partners are a diverse group of local churches, schools and civic organizations from across west Georgia. They are growing a total of 26 garden beds at their own locations.
The season kicked off April 17 at The Home Depot in Villa Rica, where the groups built raised beds for their gardens and gathered supplies. Get Healthy, Live Well provided the garden supplies and soil, while employees from The Home Depot and WalMart.com taught the groups how to build the raised beds and helped with construction. The Home Depot also provided a discount on the cost of supplies.
The new gardens were launched with 780 bags of soil and 16 rolls of weed barrier — plus a lot of hard work from enthusiastic volunteers. The gardens will be growing a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, including tomatoes, peppers, squash, okra and strawberries.
These community gardens are unique because they will have a broader reach than traditional community gardens. Instead of simply growing food for people who work on them, many of these gardens will provide food for local needy families and food pantries. Other gardens will focus on educating young people about fresh vegetables and fruit.
“We’re bringing community partners together to help feed our needy neighbors and reach people who need fresh food,” said Denise Taylor, Senior Vice President and Chief Community Health, Strategy and Brand Officer at Tanner Health System. “It’s also a wonderful opportunity to educate the next generation about growing fruits and vegetables.”
Get Healthy, Live Well is proud to have the following community partners:
- Bowdon Elementary School
- Carroll County Boys & Girls Club
- Fairfield Plantation
- Heard County 4-H
- Hope Fellowship Church
- Jones Elementary School
- Last Shall Be First Ministries
- Lifeline Mission
- Major Temple Garden Club
- Piney Grove Baptist Church
- University of West Georgia