(WSVN) – A South Florida woman is serving her community by providing some healthy foods. She’s on a mission to improve the lives of her neighbors, one garden at a time. 7’s Heather Walker shows us in tonight’s 7 Spotlight.
Asha Walker, founder of Health in the Hood: “How about some tomatoes? Let’s do it.”
To grow a garden, you need some dirt…
Asha Walker: “Let’s crack open those seeds.”
Sunshine and…
Asha Walker: “What do you think the last thing we need to do is?”
Genesis: “Watering.”
Asha Walker: “Girl, you are a pro.”
This community garden in Pinewood, near Miami’s West Little River neighborhood, is a place where people can learn to plant, pick and enjoy food — fresh from the garden.
[Genesis pulls a sweet potato from the ground.]
Asha Walker: “Woo! That’s a big one. We had to work for that guy.”
Heather Walker: “What do you think about this?”
Jennifer Richards, Genesis’ mom: “Honestly, I love it, I love it.”
Jennifer Richards and her daughter Genesis recently moved to Pinewood and just happened to stumble upon the garden.
Genesis: “It’s very fun, and it’s very cool.”
Jennifer Richards: “I really like this aspect, the fact that this is an open garden in the neighborhood for kids to just stop by, learn certain things and just to have fun in it. Especially for her, since she loves to garden, so I love the aspect of having something so close for her.”
That was the goal when Asha Walker started these gardens with her nonprofit, called Health in the Hood.
Asha Walker: “Our mission is equal food access for all.”
Many inner city areas in South Florida are in what the Food and Drug Administration calls “food deserts,” which is any area more than a mile away from a grocery store.
Asha Walker: “If you are living in a community that’s more than a mile away from a grocery store, you don’t have a car, you don’t have extra disposable income, but if you have it growing in your backyard, it’s a totally different scenario.”
Which is what prompted Asha to bring fresh grown vegetables to the neighborhood through urban farming.
Asha Walker: “Urban gardens are really the heart of our model. We go into a neighborhood that you wouldn’t typically think of seeing a garden in, and we transform what was a vacant lot into a vibrant vegetable garden, and it truly transforms the neighborhood.”
Nikki Fowles has been working for Health in the Hood from the beginning.
Asha Walker: “She is totally the heart and soul of this program.”
She has seen the changes these gardens create in the community.
Nicole Fowles: “We have had a large impact. We’ve had a lot of the elder people that doesn’t drive anymore and doesn’t work.”
Along with planting gardens, Health in the Hood leads community nutrition education programs and holds food distribution events.
The food in the gardens is open to anyone in the neighborhood. They can pick what they need and take it home to enjoy with their family.
Nicole Fowles: “To grow your own food, and to actually be able to share it with others, it’s a wonderful feeling, Mama. It’s a beautiful feeling to give back.”
Heather Walker: “What was your favorite part?”
Genesis: “Planting the green beans.”
Asha Walker: “A little bit of love, a little creativity and some healthy soil, and you can truly transform a neighborhood.”
Genesis: “I want to come tomorrow.”
Jennifer Richards: “We’re going to come back later.”
Asha Walker: “Bye, thank you guys.”
Genesis: “Bye.”
These gardens are growing happier, healthier futures one row at a time.
Heather Walker, 7News.
For more information about Health in the Hood, click here.
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