The Neighborhood Gardener:
Flagler County Master Gardener volunteers Help Feed the Hungry
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Flagler County Master Gardener volunteers are working with the Flagler County Department of Juvenile Justice Council to develop a community garden. This garden provides a hands-on opportunity for area youth to volunteer and acquire commmunity service hours while working to help feed Flagler County's hungry. The Juvenile Justice Council adopted the development of the garden during Florida's DJJ Youth Success Week in April of 2009.
Under the leadership of Chuck Smarr, the Flagler Master Gardener volunteers advise students on planting and harvesting vegetables at the community garden. So far, the garden has produced two full crops and more than 100 bushels of fresh vegetables and citrus which have all been donated to area food banks, like the Grace Tabernacle Food Pantry.
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The garden is one of two in Florida to receive the People’s Garden recognition from the United States Department of Agriculture. The People's Garden Initiative challenges USDA employees to establish gardens at their facilities or help communities create gardens.
In May, the community garden won a mini-orchard in the online "Communities Take Root" competition, sponsored by the National Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and Edy's Fruit Bars. A dozen fruit trees and eight fruit-bearing bushes will be presented in November at a groundbreaking party to celebrate the planting.
Learn More
- Read about the Flagler County Youth Center and watch a video about the community garden at their web site
- Read a press release about the development of the garden and its one-year anniversary from the Flagler County Public School system (PDF)
- Listen to an interview with George Johnson from the Florida Natural Resources Conservation Service as he talks about the community garden on Southeast AgNET
- Learn more about the Flagler County Master Gardener program
- Learn more about the USDA People's Garden Initiative
- See what other communities are receiving mini-orchards at the "Communities Take Root" web site