MANSFIELD — Three contiguous parcels of land along Blust Avenue were vacant lots, littered with trash and debris this time last year.
Now, the area is home to 19 raised beds and a hoop house.
And thanks to the Lowe’s Heroes program, North End Community Improvement Collaborative’s Blust Avenue Teaching Garden will soon include a shed and six additional raised beds.
Lowe’s employees were busy Tuesday building the 12-foot-by-16-foot shed, which will be used for storage space.
“As of now, we’ve been using the hoop house (for storage space), and as you can see things are a little cluttered,” said Candace Harrell, NECIC teaching garden coordinator.
Mike Howard, NECIC executive director, is “over the moon” to see the progress that’s been and being made at the teaching garden. He called the project a “labor of love,” noting that it wouldn’t have been possible without the community’s support.
“This is only the beginning,” he noted. “This is just one portion of the kinds of things that we can do in this community.”
Ken Kaiser, Lowe’s store manager, said that Lowe’s has donated all of the material and labor to construct the shed and raised beds.
“We call this our Heroes program,” he said. “We do a lot of community relations work and one big project every year.
“We like to give back to the communities that we work in and live in to show our support and try to beautify as much as we can.”
Harrell said the plan is to plant an herb garden, most likely around the new shed.
“We’ll be growing mostly produce, a few flowers, a few edible flowers and then some things like the French marigolds, which are a good companion plant to keep pests away,” she said.
NECIC seeks to promote healthy lifestyles, teach people of all ages how to grow food, increase local economic opportunities and expand fresh food access among the community through the Blust Avenue Teaching Garden.
By partnering with the ROAR (Real Opportunities for Achievement and Readiness) program, NECIC is able to teach Mansfield City School students in grades 7-12 about gardening through hands-on lessons.
Students also have the opportunity to sell the produce they help grow at the North End Farmers Market.
The North End Farmers Market opens May 24 at the Gateway Resource Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“For a lot of people in the north end, a lack of fresh produce is an issue,” Harrell pointed out. “The north end is a fresh food dessert.”
While some stores exist, they don’t sell fresh produce and there’s not a grocery store within walking distance, she said.
“That makes it very inconvenient for people to eat healthy, so they eat a lot of snack foods and junk food because that’s what’s available in walking distance,” she said.
The farmers market will double the SNAP benefits up to $20. “So if you’re on food stamps and only have $15 dollars on your card, you can get $30 worth of produce,” she said.
“We’ll even have plants for sale at the farmers market for people who are interested in having their own garden, and if they need help in getting started, we can give them advice as to where to put the garden and what will grow best in the area,” she added. “All of our services are free.”
There will also be occasional cooking demonstrations at the farmers market.
“We try to encompass everything because many times people grow produce but then don’t know what to do with it,” she said.
