Why one WMass agency leans on community gardens to address hunger
SPRINGFIELD — Each agency that gets money to provide nutrition education to people receiving food assistance goes about it differently, said Kristin Foley, director of youth and family services at Ascentria Care Alliance.
For Ascentria, that focus includes community gardens.
Ascentria is one of four groups in the state that implements the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education program, or SNAP-Ed, which teaches people how to eat healthy on a budget and make the most of their food assistance.
For instance, Ascentria compiled recipe books for people who may not have access to full kitchens, offering suggestions to people who only have a hot plate or a slow cooker, Foley said.
The work includes partnering with local organizations. The loss of federal funding might mean a key piece of that network is gone, she said. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides curriculum and lesson plans for the SNAP-Ed program, Foley said.
When it comes to community gardens, Foley said Ascentria has placed them at Head Start early childhood education centers and senior centers. Last year, Ascentria completed nine community gardens, ranging in cost from $500 to $2,500. Often, it will use students from YouthBuild to construct raised beds.
The goal, Foley said, is to make people a bit more self-reliant, less beholden to what is distributed at the local food pantry or sold in the grocery store.
“We are responsible for showing you how to do it yourself, so then you can be successful in the future solo, and then eventually, obviously, take those skills to other people as well,” Foley said.
Rebecca Willoughby, a 10-year resident of Independence House in Springfield, attended a recent cooking demonstration by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts that was funded by SNAP-Ed. She then visited the apartment building’s community garden outside.
“I just enjoy watching them doing it,” she said of the demonstration.
She said she started cooking when she was a child growing up in Providence, Rhode Island, preparing dinner as her parents worked in a factory.
Her garden is full of peppers, such as Thai Dragon, that she’ll turn into hot sauce, dragon egg cucumbers and a watermelon now the size of a softball that Willoughby said will soon balloon.
More in U.S.
She got her start gardening when she sent out for strawberries offered in the back of comic books.
In the fall, Willoughby said she plans to grow saffron crocus in the Independence House’s community garden. Willoughby said she enjoys cooking with saffron, notoriously the most expensive spice in the world. It is made from plucking the three stigmas from each saffron crocus flower. However, the plant “turns out not to be picky” she said.
more news from Western Massachusetts
Read the original article on MassLive.