Mid-Ohio Food Bank donates $180,000 to urban farms

With Garland’s help and the assistance of the kids who come to work on the farm every summer, they feed about 300 people in Linden

By Joshua Rogers
ABC6
May 2nd 2019

Excerpt:

Stephen Garland has carefully watched over his urban farm in Linden for 14 years, bringing plants to life that can feed his community. But he hasn’t done it alone.

“We started out 14 years ago with 23 kids, in the summertime, and it’s grown to, well, we’re between 350 and 400 kids every day for 50 days in the summertime,” he said.

Now, with the help of a $180,000 grant from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, the farm’s future looks brighter than ever.

“We want people to have access to those healthy foods in as many ways as they can, whether that means coming and getting it from us at the food bank or the pantry or growing it right here in their community,” said Malik Perkins, spokesperson with the food bank.

14 urban farms throughout Columbus are benefiting from the grant, but Linden’s farm is hugely important. Since Kroger left town in 2018, the town hasn’t had a low-cost option for food shopping.

“At that point, the move to a food desert was complete,” Garland said.

Read the complete article here.