By Jennifer Justus, the Tennessean, January 18, 2010
Although it will be months before they can see the fruits of their labor, local youths spent a rainy Sunday weeding and mulching the fields of the Nashville Urban Harvest Farm.
Supported by Re/Storing Nashville, a program of Manna-Food Security Partners, the gathering was both a youth service day in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a way to discuss sustainable food sources with teens.
For Kyle Brantley, 17, of Nashville, who came to pull weeds and get his hands dirty with his second Presbyterian Church youth group, this was his first real gardening experience, save for a couple of weeks of volunteer work helping locals grow peppers in new Mexico last summer.
“I see it as a great opportunity. In the past, we went to the MLK march. But this gives me a chance to get out in my community and do something,” he said.
From the Christian Eucharist to Muslim fasts to Jewish dietary laws, food is an important part of many religions.
“It’s an interesting connection that we all seem to share. we were looking for something to do that would really connect with the interfaith leadership of Dr. King. And this allowed us to work with a diverse group of religiously active youth,” said Jennifer Bailey, a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow with Manna-FSP.
About 30 volunteers showed up for the service day, with a large contingent coming from not only the Presbyterian church but also Blakemore United Method ist Church, said Shavaun Evans, who heads Growing Healthy Kids, a project of Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee.
Food will sprout in April
Operated by Nashville Urban Harvest, a nonprofit group working to build a sustainable food system in the area, the garden is a Community Supported Agriculture project, in which individuals buy into their share of the seasonal crops grown on the land. In all, five spots on the little farm are sold for a reduced price of $145 for families in need with 15 others going for a regular share price of $345. People can put their name on a waiting list by e-mailing csa@nashvilleurbanharvest.org.
Beginning in April, peas and beans, Swiss chard, tomatoes, cabbage, watermelon, hot and sweet peppers, and asparagus will all sprout from the soil at the farm behind the Standard Motor building in West Nashville. there are even a few value-added items beehives and mushroom beds on the half-acre farm.
Farm manager David Wells has noticed an increase in attention to the CSA concept. This is the fourth year of operation for the farm and the second year in CSA.