The Wellness Coalition, together with the Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission and EAT South, will offer instructional demonstrations to give Central Alabama-area residents the knowledge and skills they need to create their own home garden or other community-based gardens. A total of three community gardens will be installed by the partners during the month of May, to give residents in the areas of Montgomery, Lowndes and Macon Counties—where healthy food choices are limited—the knowledge they need to make fresh produce more accessible.
The demonstrations are open to the public and are free of charge. They will be offered on three dates:
- Saturday, May 9, 2015 from 9:00am to 12:00pm at Restoration Baptist Church, 164 East South Street, Montgomery, Alabama, 36105
- Saturday, May 16, 2015 from 9:00am to 12:00pm at Grenwood Missionary Baptist Church, 1510 Washington Avenue, Tuskegee, Alabama, 36088
- Tuesday, May 19, 2015 from 3:00 to 6:00pm at Snow Hill Christian Church, 126 Snow Hill Drive, Fort Deposit, Alabama, 36032
“The most exciting part of this partnership for us will be the direct positive impact we will make on the citizens’ lives through increasing their communities’ access to fresh, nutritionally-rich foods while also fostering a spirit of community ownership and pride,” said Steve Till, Healthy Food Project Officer at the Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission.
The Wellness Coalition is able to provide these demonstrations through funding from the CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program. REACH provides grant funding for community-based organizations to help reduce racial and ethnic barriers to good health. For more information about REACH-funded programs from the Wellness Coalition visit www.thewellnesscoalition.org/reach.