Editorial: A garden grows in Dorchester

 

A small piece of land can have a huge impact. The Victory Program’s ReVision House, a shelter for homeless young families, has been growing fruits and vegetables out of three garden plots, totaling 1 acre, in the midst of Dorchester since the 1990s. The farm, whose plots once belonged to condemned city buildings, was ranked last year by Natural Home magazine as one of the nation’s top 10 urban farms. Through paid internships, homeless residents — usually young mothers — learn how to grow, harvest and prepare healthy meals for their families. Not only does the farm help feed ReVision’s residents, but it donates over 7,000 pounds of produce a year to local shelters and residents in need. Now, with the opening of ReVision’s first farm stand this July on Blue Hill Avenue, residents of surrounding neighborhoods will be able to buy its fresh and healthy produce at reasonable prices. The farm stand, which will be open three afternoons a week through the fall, is a win for everyone: Blight turns into beauty, and a new generation of families can afford to eat better, replacing fast food meals with fresher, healthier alternatives. And for the 2010 season they will offer half off all produce purchases with SNAP/EBT (formerly Food Stamps). Dorchester, scene of a recent uptick in youth violence, is often associated with negative headlines. Few outsiders knew it had its own emerald necklace. The community needs more of this kind of news.

More Information: http://www.vpi.org/Farm/FarmStand.htm

-From “GLOBE EDITORIAL: Fresh produce- A garden grows in Dorchester”,The Boston Globe, June 17, 2010, http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2010/06/17/fresh_produce_a_garden_grows_in_dorchester/, retrieved 6/17/10.

 

6/10