BLACKSBURG, Va. – The town of Blacksburg, a nonprofit and Virginia Tech are coming together to end food insecurity in Southwest Virginia
Staff with Feeding Southwest Virginia said one in eight residents dealing with food insecurity.
A nonprofit called Live, Work, Eat Grow is working to encourage community gardening, to help people get access to fresh produce.
“We have tomatoes, people grow corn in here, people grow greens,” Steve Kruger with Live, Work, Eat, Grow said.
The nonprofit runs the Hale Garden, the largest in Blacksburg.
Kruger said what’s special about the Hale Garden, one of three community gardens in Blacksburg is people growing vegetables that may not be available in the grocery store.
It is also building a sense of community.
“People grow a lot of Asian yams,” Kruger said.
Another is fighting food insecurity. Kruger said more than $66,000 of produce was grown last year.
“On the surface, it’s a place to grow food it’s a place to have more nutritious food.”
Dr. Elena Serrano with Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension said it’s vital to educate people about healthier food choices once the food is grown.
“We did a state survey among individuals with low income, almost one-third of adults and almost three-quarters of the households were considered food insecure,” Dr. Serrano said.
Serrano said, one in ten adults is food insecure and one in seven households with children experience food insecurity.
The goal now is to help educate people on proper eating habits.
“What do you do with eggplant once you decide to grow it we can provide educational programs to help you process it and prepare it,” Serrano said.
To learn more about community gardening and food, click here.
The center works directly with Live, Work, Eat Grow and provides support for the Civic Ag and Food Systems. To learn more, click here.