Des Moines urban farmer feeds neighbors, builds community
“The whole reason we started this is to feed people,” she said. “People are really struggling, and that’s my main focus.”
By Shelby Fleig
Des Moines Register
Jan 22, 2021
Excerpt:
The original Sweet Tooth Farm plot sits next to Owczarski’s home in what used to be Royal Park, once the smallest park in the city. But she, her husband, Rene, and their neighbors agreed there had to be something more useful than crumbling playground equipment and a basketball court with no rim where people loitered late into the night.
Determined to find a solution, Owczarski led a long-fought charge that eventually resulted in the city vacating the park and leasing the land. That rare result is largely thanks to her unwillingness to take no for an answer, said Ben Page, the parks and recreation director, whom Owczarski calls an early supporter.
“She’s a force, and she’s a positive force,” Page said. Lots of people come to the city with complaints, ideas and requests, he said, but Owczarski’s bold proposal was different because she put in the work to prove how it could benefit River Bend. She even got a relative of the Royal family for which the park was named to give their blessing.
“Everything that she forecasted could happen has happened — and more,” he said. “Every so often when I drive by in that part of the city, I just smile when I see what she’s done there.”
