TAKING ROOT

AS SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FACES RECORD UNEMPLOYment and unprecedented hunger, concerned citizens are stepping forward and digging in to plant community gardens. Schools and organizations throughout the region are putting down roots or planning to do so soon, establishing gardens they hope will not only help feed those who are hungry but also reap a bushel of social and academic benefits at the same time.

 

Hunger is clearly a primary motivator.

Unemployment rates stand at 13.5 percent in Lee County, 12.6 percent in Collier County and 12.2 percent in Charlotte County.

In Lee County alone, applications for food stamps have increased 150 percent in two years and more than two-thirds of the children attending public schools qualify for free or reducedcost meals. Harry Chapin Food Bank now struggles to feed 20,000 people each month — more than double the number who sought help two years ago.

It's not only nutritional sustenance that's in short supply. Many children suffer from what author Richard Louv terms "nature deficit disorder," a condition caused by societal fears that children will be snatched from the streets if left unsupervised. That keeps children from the sort of free-form outdoor play that nurtures creativity and a lifelong love of nature, Mr. Louv says. In his book, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder," he maintains that children desperately need to reconnect with the natural world.

COURTESY PHOTO Bonita Springs Middle School students harvest onions during a day-long gardening workshop at ECHO in North Fort Myers.

Schoolyard and community gardens help foster that connection while providing food.

ECHO — Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization — has spent more than 20 years combating hunger in third-world nations by supplying seeds and expertise.

Although ECHO is based in North Fort Myers, it wasn't until the Hunger Task Force of Southwest Florida came together last year and brought to light just how serious a problem hunger was locally that ECHO's leadership saw that their help was needed closer to home.

"We realized we were needed in our own backyard," says Mary Moore, ECHO's director of donor relations. "Food pantries and food banks are running out of food. What a great way to supplement them — with a vegetable garden or perennials that produce year after year."

She believes an added benefit is that it helps spread enthusiasm for gardening as children take the ideas home to their parents.

"A lot of families can use the help, but they also learn a new skill, something you can do the rest of your life," she says.

One Lee County garden has generated a lot of excitement in the region.

Brenda Tate, who mentors children at Bonita Springs Elementary School, recruited ECHO to help launch a garden project at the school.

A year in the making, the ECHO Edible Schoolyard Garden broke ground this summer and is now growing a host of vegetables.

Since then, ECHO has won a $25,000 grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation to fund a staff position, someone who will work at ECHO and serve as a liaison to groups interested in starting gardens. ECHO will hold a workshop Wednesday, Sept. 30, to explain what's involved in such an undertaking and to help people decide whether they should tackle such a project.

"In order for a community garden to be successful, you need to have a Brenda Tate, a committed volunteer who is not willing to let the project fail," says Ms. Moore.

 

The diverse array of organizations sending representatives to the workshop illustrates the widespread interest in community gardens. Among those signed up are First Baptist Academy of Naples, Lee Mental Health, Cape Coral Special Populations and Child Care of Southwest Florida.

Another group of concerned citizens also stands ready to lend manpower to garden projects. The non-profit Sown Together consists of people who want to help wipe out hunger and improve nutrition through the establishment of community gardens and education about good nutrition. So far, they've helped plant gardens at the STARS Complex in Fort Myers and at TLC Christian Children's Home in Cape Coral with more in the planning stages.

"Diseases like diabetes and heart disease have a huge dietary component," says Manny Vasile, who co-founded the group with his wife, Elizabeth. " A high percentage of minorities suffer from obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. They can go get a cart full of crappy food that feeds the family for a week, or buy three bags of fruits and vegetables. For them to buy healthier foods costs so much more, it's unaffordable. It's an awful irony."

The group hopes to help more organizations, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods, plant gardens that will provide fresh fruits and vegetables at low cost.

"To the extent we can help, we're happy to," he says.

Besides manpower, groups need seed money.

That's where Slow Food Southwest Florida comes in. The nonprofit group dedicated to the cultivation, preparation and celebration of clean, healthy food, offers mini-grants to help schools and other organizations start gardens throughout the three-county region.

"Children thrive when given the opportunity to touch the earth and learn how food grows," says group president Rose O'Dell King. "When they grow vegetables, they become more excited about eating them. By placing emphasis on hands-on experiences, community gardens help strengthen the food communities of tomorrow by engaging our children."

tools for gardeners

>> ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization): Holds a training class Sept. 30 for those considering starting a community garden. A few spaces remain. Reserve one by sending an e-mail to Danielle Flood at dflood@echonet.org. The organization plans to hire a community garden coordinator by November who will assist groups in harnessing the expertise of ECHO to establish gardens. For details, contact Mary Moore, director of donor relations, at mmoore@ echonet.org or 567-3312. ECHO has developed a manual that can guide groups through the process of creating a garden. It's available upon request. >> Slow Food Southwest Florida: Offers grants of $250 to $500 to schools and organizations to establish gardens. Those interested must complete an application and on-site interview. For details on applying or donating to the fund, send a note to slowfoodsouthwestflorida@ gmail.com >> Sown Together: Helps groups start and maintain community gardens to ease hunger and improve nutrition. Visit the group's Web site at sowntogether.org or call 344-9981. >> The Edible Schoolyard: A gardening project at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, Calif., funded by the Chez Panisse Foundation, founded by chef and activist Alice Waters. It offers resources and tips on creating gardens and using them as teaching tools. Visit it at edibleschoolyard.org and the foundation at chezpanissefoundation.org. >> The National Gardening Association: Operates kidsgardening.org, a site that provides grants and guidance for establishing school gardens. >> The Growing Connection: A program of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, it supplies EarthBox gardening systems to schools around the world, linking U.S. programs with their counterparts in other countries. Learn more at thegrowingconnection. org.