Community Garden Outreach

Our community garden is a small step in meeting the need in the inner city to provide healthier food options to residents. Just blocks from the church, our ten bed garden is a tiny oasis in the urban environment, boasting crops of lettuce, okra, tomatoes, beans, carrots, peppers, and more.

The neighborhood around Union Avenue is almost a "food desert," an urban area where healthy affordable food is difficult to obtain, particularly for those on fixed incomes and without access to private transportation.

Garden mural painted by alternative spring break college students.

In 2012, our community garden is being maintained in partnership with HopeBuild, an inner city organization which "empowers underserved communities to lead healthy lifestyles and enrich neighborhoods through increased access to fresh foods, urban produce gardens, and nutrition education." Members of Union Avenue Christian, HopeBuild volunteers, and neighborhood residents helped to plant the garden and then it will be cultivated throughout the summer by more volunteers (including those participating in our Urban Mission Inn ministry.) Produce from the garden will benefit those involved in HopeBuild programs as well as the food pantry at Memorial Blvd. Christian Church. To see more images from the garden project, go here.