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Pennsylvania Urban, Community Gardens Combat Food Deserts, Grow Food, Life Skills

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.

“Urban gardening is beneficial to our environment, helps to improve our physical, mental and emotional well-being, and can even stimulate local economy.”

PA Dept of Agriculture
BCTV Org
July 24, 2020

Excerpt:

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding toured Harrisburg’s Wesley Garden with volunteers and gardeners, discussing the important role community gardens play in providing access to fresh, healthy food for communities affected by food apartheid. A community garden run by the Harrisburg Urban Growers through Tri County Community Action, Wesley Garden provides local families access to tools, space, and mentorship to plant their own garden and experience the freedom of growing their own food.

“I’ve always said that in Pennsylvania, agriculture is zip code neutral. Now more than ever, that needs to be the case,” said Agriculture Secretary Redding. “Systemic discrimination has created a ‘food apartheid’, depriving low-income communities whose residents are predominantly people of color, of fresh, nutritious food, and repeating a cycle that limits their access to economic opportunities and better health.

“This pandemic has focused our attention on inequities, but it has also sharpened our focus on the important role urban and community gardens play in our commonwealth’s food system. Urban gardens feed communities in need, breaking down walls that block opportunity and bringing communities together.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has washed across Pennsylvania, food security and access to fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables have taken center stage. To not further stress the charitable food system, there is a need to reduce food waste and strengthen local food production, and shorten the supply chain between consumers and their food source.”

Read the complete article here.