These young Black men’s mission in Alabama: Feed their west side neighborhood, revitalize community garden

“We’re facing food deserts and disparities in a lot of these lower income neighborhoods. We might tear a house down but what happens to the property after that?” she asked.

By Safiya Charles
Montgomery Advertiser
July 6, 2020 |

Excerpt:

Using borrowed tools, the group worked through hot afternoons and weekends to plow the land and plant seeds for peppers, squash and sweet potatoes donated by EAT South farm. The teens were amused to see that the tomato plants they had seeded just three weeks ago were already yielding fruit.“They never complain,” Rankins said of the young men. “Listening to them talk afterward, laughing and joking about it. It’s an experience they’ll never forget.”

YMM will unveil the reinvigorated Nixon-Times community garden in a neighborhood celebration on July 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone who lives in the area is welcome to pick fresh produce come harvest time, and the group plans to use a portion of the vegetables to prepare meals for elderly residents every first and third Saturday in a partnership with catering service Beyond the Plate.

Voncile Gregory, who has lived in the same house on Emerson Street since the day she was born, had originally spearheaded the neighborhood garden project in 2010 when she was president of the Nixon-Times neighborhood association. Gregory and some other members had completed training provided by the city under its “Weed and Seed” initiative that enabled them to apply for grants to fund the garden. But after eight years, volunteers dwindled, and the upkeep became too much for the 73-year-old.

Read the complete article here.