antelope issue 5
BRAYDON CONELL conellbt@lopers.unk.edu
Soon, Kearney may have
a community garden with
access to home-grown, local
produce throughout the sum-
mer months.
Community gardens are
trending but not a new con-
cept.
“Prior to the 1960s, [com-
munity] gardens were always
a part of communities,” said
Justin Simmons, leader of
the Kearney Sustainability
Movement. “They help build
healthy diets, character and,
most importantly, communi-
ty.”
In recent years, there has
been a push toward returning
to decentralized food pro-
duction through communi-
ty-based programs. Knowing
where one’s food comes from
and what went into its prod-
cution has been prioritized by
people across the nation.
The Kearney Sustainability
Movement has set a goal to
have this opportunity in Kear-
ney in the coming months.
At the end of February,
KSM launched its Community
Garden plan with a coordina-
tion meeting. A sizable crowd
gathered to discuss the bene-
fits this program would bring
to Kearney.
The mission for the com-
munity garden is “to create
a community garden that
will help educate community
members on sustainability
practices for people of all
ages and to enhance human
well-being.”
Community gardens have
long been employed to im-
prove diets, education and
cultural opportunities, localize
food production, reduce food
insecurity, foster an urban
ecosystem and build commu-
nity.
“Our original goal was to
get a garden in town to help
people who live in apartments
to grow their own food,” said
Simmons.
Upon concerns of past failed gardens in Kearney, the plan has shifted into a pilot pro- gram to test its interest in the community.
Under this pilot program,
a majority of the food grown
from the garden will be
donated to area shelters and
food pantries. Volunteers that
help with the maintenance
of the plot and upkeep of the
plants will be reimbursed with
produce.
The KSM pilot program is
currently planned to be locat-
ed near the dog park in the
northwest corner of the city
near the water tower pending
approval.
The quantity and scale
of the produce grown will
depend on the number of
volunteers that the group has
to maintain it. The area that is
being explored has a large area
available for plots.
In addition to the Kearney
Sustainability Movement
spearheading this project,
other area groups have also
stepped up to collaborate on
this new community project.
Conservation Nebraska,
Kearney Little Free Pantry,
and the ReUse It Center have
all signed on to support the
venture.
“This project will help bring
many generations of com-
munity members together to
create an organic fresh food
source,” said Kristi Castil-
lo, founder of the ReUse It
Center. “Removing barriers
to fresh food and helping
educate the community on
sustainable living practices are
crucial to keeping our com-
munity strong in the years to
come.”
Food insecurity, an issue
that the community gar-
den will be designed to help
address in Kearney is more
prevalent than one may think.
According to the American Community Survey, 1 out of every 5.7 residents live in a form of poverty and expe- rience food insecurity as a result.
“We are hoping this garden
can help provide some fresh
produce for our community
and also be something that
we can all work together on
and be proud of,” said Shan-
non Kramer and Erin Davis,
founders of the Kearney Little
Free Pantry.
In addition to growing fresh
produce, KSM plans to use the
garden for educational oppor-
tunities for area schools and to
create a composting area for
local residents.
Ultimately, for this idea to
become truly successful, the
community garden project
would need to expand.
“We are hoping that after
the pilot program, we can
expand and get gardens more
centrally located in the city
and have gardening become
a larger part of the Kearney
community,” Simmons said.