Three years from now, Cleveland could be a whole lot greener. Not in the eco-friendly sense of the word—though hopefully that will be true, too—but literally greener, with fruits and veggies teeming in once-vacant lots.
That's the hope of a $1.1 million initiative that will give 20 lucky Cleveland residents in the Kinsman neighborhood a quarter acre of land each and the necessary training to grow crops over the next three years.
The city of Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the U.S.D.A. and the Ohio State Unviersity Extension Service are all chipping in to foot the bill.
More than 30 percent of Ohio children are overweight, and Kathleen Merrigan, a deputy secretary with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, thinks the initiative is a step toward improving eating habits in the notorious "food deserts" of Cleveland.
Eager urban gardeners will be rewarded with new green thumb skills, and the chance to sell their produce to local schools, farmers markets and restaurants.
One local restaurant owner, Douglas Katz, is thrilled to hear about the initiative. "The Kinsman neighborhood is a very rough area. To put $1.1 million into this community will just be huge," Katz told Slashfood.com. "I absolutely would love to use what they grow, and will promote that it's grown here in the city of Cleveland, right in our backyard."
Planting is set to begin in April.
Photo: ItzaFineDay/Creative Commons via Flickr
Comments
2