Growing gardens from the ground up

A grass-roots effort supported by the Battle Creek Community Foundation is growing not only vegetables, but neighborhood leaders and a sense of community all at once.The program grew out of a forum in January in which 80 people turned out to brainstorm ideas for getting neighborhood gardens planted.From that discussion has grown a network of community gardeners, a plan to donate surplus produce to local food banks, and a way to address the need for fruit and vegetables in parts of the city where healthy food has not been available — sometimes called food deserts. Today there are 14 SPROUT Urban Farms, gardens ranging in size from 300 square feet to a single acre, across the city.  “We focused on a grass roots strategy, asking people who wanted to participate,” says Jeremy Andrews, of the Battle Creek Community Foundation. “We put it on Facebook and it took off.”The Battle Creek Foundation has made neighborhood grants available for tools, soil, seeds and seedlings. By the first week of June the plots should be tilled and planted.At harvest time a crop swap and at least one harvest dinner is planned. The urban farmers are developing business ideas that could build the local economy as well, Andrews says. Funding for the program has been provided by the Penny Kelly Center for Sustainable Consciousness. Partnerships have developed with Battle Creek Unlmited, the W.K.Kellogg Foundation, Leila Arboretum, Neighborhoods INC., various neighborhood associations, the County Land Bank, City of Battle Creek, the Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative and the homeless ministry the Haven.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Jeremy Andrews, Battle Creek Foundation