FEATURE
Miracle mission
Church grows vegetables for East Buffalo BY MICHAEL J. BILLONI
Sister Karen Hargrove tends the Miracle Mission’s Feed My Flock Community Garden. Photo courtesy of Miracle Mission
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s chair of the Health & Wellness Ministry at East Buffalo’s Miracle Mission Full Gospel Church on Sycamore Street, Sister Karen Hargrove knows the fresh produce food apartheid that exists in that community. She has always wanted to address it by creating a community garden on vacant land next to the church but her full-time job at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority limited the time she could devote to it starting—let alone maintaining—it. When Pastor and board of Community Garden gives her that opportunity to create our Feed My Flock Community Garden has opportunity to be of service to our directors’ chair Dr. James A. Lewis provided me with much peace. As I community,” Pastor Lewis says. III asked Hargrove and a couple learn more about gardening, I want “This garden is an extension volunteers to revisit the garden to share that knowledge with our of my Evangelism and Health idea late in spring 2021, they went Ministry,” says Hargrove, who also youth and others in the community to work building four raised beds, serves as board treasurer. “My vision so we may expand our gardens here purchasing topsoil and seedlings, and obtaining permission from the Fire for the garden is to provide fresh and see more developed through the community. We live in an everfood through a food pantry to the Department to use a hydrant for daily community, develop cooking classes changing world where inflation is waterings. The project—the Feed to show the different ways to prepare up, the cost food is up, so creating a My Flock Community Garden— began late in the growing season. the food from the garden, and to community garden can contribution to our survival and our health.” By early fall, a harvest of zucchinis, teach our youth about all aspects of Earlier this year, Hargrove’s gardening. greens, and other items flourished, “This year, the garden has six raised application was approved for a and Hargrove had achieved her goal: Seeding East Buffalo Fellowship, she was a community gardener in beds, and we are growing cucumbers, East Buffalo, providing fresh veggies carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, which included a series of courses on onions, eggplant, corn, tomatoes, urban farming presented from a team to neighbors and parishioners. assembled by Allison DeHonney, potatoes, beets, watermelons, and “Karen Hargrove is a person founder of Urban Fruits & Veggies who sincerely believes she exists herbs,” she continues. “Prayerfully, of Buffalo. And last fall, she applied we can make a difference by to ‘love and serve people’ and her and was accepted as a member of Miracle Mission’s Feed My Flock being a source for food here. This
Grassroots Gardens of Western New York, an independent 501c3 organization of determined activists who educate and lead committed neighborhood gardeners. Today’s organization resulted from the merger of two sister organizations: Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo and Greenprint Niagara. Grassroots Gardens of Western New York operates as both an urban land trust and facilitator of leased land. With over 100 community and school gardens now in its network, it secures land in three different ways on behalf of the community: It holds master leases with the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls to connect community members to vacant land. It works with Buffalo and Niagara Falls City School Districts to create school gardens on their properties or nearby lots. Because of increased risk of losing community green spaces to Buffalo-Niagara’s redevelopment, the organization became a land trust in 2016-2017. With the purchase of its first two gardens and more in the works, it is determined to conserve many long-standing community gardens. Nearly 2,000 gardeners from nearly thirty cultural backgrounds participate in its network, collectively growing over 35,000 pounds of fresh, free produce per year. As a stewardship organization, its goal is to offset the cost of soil, lumber, seeds, and seedlings for its member gardens. It also offers free workshops throughout the year so anyone who wants to learn to grow can do so. “Those experiences taught me so much and have provided so many more resources for our gardens this year and beyond,” an excited Hargrove says. She has since retired from NFTA, and her summer mission is the garden and planning for its expansion next year.” FY Michael J. Billoni is a storyteller and publisher
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