Community garden yields produce for locals, students

 As fall winds down, those who work
at a local community garden give back to the community while trying to cultivate Winston-Salem State students' minds on the importance of healthy living and learning.
The Simon Green Acres Community Garden, located approximately one mile away from WSSU, was begun 2010.
The garden is the brainchild of Jackie Foutz, creative services director in the Office of Marketing and Communications, and Sigrid Hall-Pittsley, chief marketing officer in OMC.  
After a casual talk with Foutz, Hall-Pittsley struck gold with the idea to jumpstart the garden.
"We said it would be cool if we had a community garden on campus where the students could learn about gardening and have access to the fresh vegetables," Hall-Pittsley said.
After pitching the idea to others, Hall-Pittsley contacted the WSSU administration to find a location for the garden. The preparation, however, ran into its share of obstacles.
"We were given a plot of land over on the backside of campus, but that didn't work too well because we later found out it was going to be used for a parking lot," said Rudy Anderson, communications project manager at the OMC.
With no financial backing from the University and limited area suitable for gardening, Hall-Pittsley and other supporters had no choice but to dig into their own pockets to launch the garden. Coincidentally, Carole Davis, executive director of  the S.G. Atkins Community Development Corp. , expressed interest in creating a garden, but was facing an issue of her own -- no manpower.
Calling it a "marriage made in heaven," Hall-Pittsley joined forces with Davis, who suggested using land behind the S.G. Atkins CDC Building on the corner of Martin L. King Jr. Drive and Allen Street.
Hall-Pittsley said that the community and general public have been generous and supportive in building the foundation for the garden.
A local business in Kernersville, Farmer's Feed n Seed, donated 12 agricultural tools in the garden's first year. Additionally, during homecoming week in 2010, the Toyota Green Initiative made an appearance on campus. They promoted the garden and donated a shed and garden equipment.
Hall-Pittsley said that although the garden initially started as a fun project, she realized that it grew into something that the Winston-Salem community truly needed.
According to an article published in the Winston-Salem Journal in 2011, nearly 35 percent of the city's households said that they did not have enough money to buy food throughout the year.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that Winston-Salem is considered a food desert, particularly in the southeastern region. According to the article residents in Forsyth, Davie, Stokes and Yadkin counties are the hardest hit with hunger and limited access to healthy foods.
"There are people who don't have transportation within a certain distance [of fresh food] and don't have ready access to fresh vegetables.  They're left going to corner stores where there is food that doesn't have a lot of nutritional value," Hall-Pittsley said.
"People literally don't have food to eat. This is so much more than gardening to me," she said.
Anderson said, "At least 80 percent of the food that is taken out of the garden ultimately ends up in one of the community service organizations such as Samaritan Soup Kitchen, halfway houses and food pantries,"
Other Winston-Salem organizations such as the United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church and the Ken Carlson Boys and Girls Club, have garden plots at the community garden.
Some WSSU students have been involved with the garden.  Students are permitted to pick and keep produce from the garden.
My Natural was the first student organization to volunteer at the community garden. Recently Live U, a youth campus ministry organization, participated.
"It's [gardening] very useful to the community," said Santisha Brown, junior psychology major from Zebulon, N.C.
"I think it's really nice having the community garden so people can know where their food comes from instead of just going to the store. It's a learning experience," said April Hargrove, sophomore biology major from Fayetteville.
Both Brown and Hargrove are members of Live U.
Despite the help of these organizations and others outside the WSSU community, Hall-Pittsley has expressed concern with how little college students know about fresh vegetables. She said that when many students come to the garden, they eagerly pick the produce but are not sure how to prepare it.
"We're living in a generation where youth know fast food and microwave dinners,"  Hall-Pittsley said.
Another concern she has is lack of participation from WSSU students. Most of the help at the garden has come from individuals in the Winston-Salem area.  
Hall-Pittsley hopes to see a lot more students "stick their toe" in the water and try it, despite their disinterest with going outside and getting dirty.
She expresses the importance of not losing sight of the struggle of others and recognizing that the community is in need.
She said she wants to find a way creatively to get students involved.
While Anderson and Hall-Pittsley encourage student participation, they also emphasize that it takes a lot of work.
"Gardening is not for the faint of heart. It's no joke," Anderson said.
"I have gained a deep and abiding admiration and respect for farmers."  
Anderson said that the ultimate goal for the garden is to be a sustainable and long-lasting entity in the community.
"We've been remarkably surprised with what we've been able to accomplish," Anderson said.