Fresh produce can be hard to come by for many people inNewport, Vermont.
That reality may seem incongruous, considering the state is a very green and largely rural place.
In fact, according to theU.S.
One solution: Help people create the food they need.
A pride has developed in the neighborhood, and the people are taking care of one another."
Since we are in the far north of Vermont, we’re limited to a three-month summer growing season.
We have some fundraisers and planning meetings in the winter and plant seedlings indoors in the early spring."
LOCATION DETAILS:“Our first site is what we call the Summer Street site.
A landowner allows us to use space that was previously a muddy parking lot and not used for much.
It’s open space in the middle of a block in a neighborhood that is challenged by poverty.
The site is surrounded by houses and doesnt have any street frontage.
The members asked us to take over the site in 2012.
The three sites in Newport amount to a total of 27,800-square-feet.
“Poverty and unemployment soar here, with corresponding obesity and disease rates.
The produce is distributed based on a person’s time worked.
“Our goal is to offer an alternative.
Our gardens work a little differently than most community gardens.
Volunteers can work at any of the sites and keep a record of their time.
Volunteers receive a bag of vegetables corresponding to their time worked and what is ready at that particular time.
FEATURED ATTRACTIONS:“We grow anything and everything we possibly can.
This year we branched into okra, sweet potatoes, eggplant, melons and horseradish.
If it exists and can be convinced to grow here, we try it.
We also slowly but surely add to our perennial collections of herbs, blueberries and raspberries.
We’d love to someday add fruit trees.”
“Most people were enthusiastic about the garden, but we heard two additional needs the loudest.
The landowner bought a swing set and sandbox and provided a portion of a needed fence.
Some of our other sites also have tool sheds.
The garden space is designed in concentric rings around a central gathering place.
(See the image at top.)
When the fruits, vegetables and herbs we planted start coming in, we have a weekly harvest.
“Different people are responsible for harvesting different gardens.
The harvest is then sorted into bags for each volunteer.
Any leftovers are sent to the places we donate to.
“We have a contest onour Facebook page.
We harvested 3,875 pounds in 2014 and 5,435 pounds in 2013.
The project was coordinated through theNewport City Renaissance Corporationsdesign committee.
After the first year, we formed a leadership board with a mission and vision.
We are now mostly independent, with the city acting as our fiscal agent.”
THE HURDLES: “We face challenges, small and large, every day.
We also posted the rules at each of the sites.
After that, we opted for the more communal community garden model that is coordinated by a board.
The board meets throughout the year.”
The planning team coordinated compost and manure donations and got the site ready.
7.In June we had another event for planting day and then an official grand opening.
8.At the end of the season, a few dedicated volunteers cleaned up the garden.
Since the city is our fiscal agent it provides a small amount of staff time to that function.
We do not receive other assistance from the city.
The police have noticed a downturn in the number of calls to the area.
While we have a small amount of theft from the garden it has not been overwhelming.”
WISE ADVICE: “Working with volunteers is very, very different from working in business.
“However, as with any project or organization, people can throw some curv balls.
Diplomacy in the leadership is absolutely key.
It’s important to keep that volunteer interested their passion is very much needed.
Learning how to respond to a bad idea is an important lesson.
“Instead of saying.
How about[fill in the blank]instead?'
Redirecting someones passion and energy and working with them goes a long way in keeping volunteers excited.
However, we’ll gladly give advice and informational assistance to other groups.”
(See more about this effort in the PBS Vermont video"Fresh Start Community Garden.")
