COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Saturday, community members and non-profit leaders with the Living Wright Foundation woke up early to plant and seed a brand-new community garden on Chestnut Street in Columbia.
Organizers said this project has been in the works for over a year and needed to raise about $10,000 to come to fruition.
Their goal is to grow and distribute fresh produce seasonally at local churches and other sites to people who cannot afford it.
"We’re trying to make fresh produce more accessible to neighborhoods that are suffering from food insecurities, grocery deserts," said Vivian Clark-James, vice president of the Living Wright Foundation. "The cost of fresh vegetables, the cost of everything now, is so expensive."
Clark-James said it's important that the produce is the healthiest quality.
"So, all of this is going to be organic to permaculture and no fertilizer, no pesticides, no any -- even the wood for the beds are not treated," Clark-James said.
Saturday, volunteers and organizers planted winter crops, including kale, collards, radishes, kohlrabi, and cauliflower.
One of those volunteers, Brenda Oliver, said she woke up early this weekend to give back to her neighborhood and community.
"It is important because if you don’t form partnerships with others and do outreach, then your community doesn’t progress," Oliver said.
Robert Percival, president of the Living Wright Foundation, said a lot of thought went into the placement and design of this new community garden.
"The sun travels like that, it’s east to west. That’s south and that’s north. So, the beds are positioned south running north, which is really an ideal way to position beds," Percival said. "So our next set of beds is going to be the same way, all running in the same direction."
There are currently nine beds, and Percival said he hopes to raise enough money to install seven more in the spring.
There are nine beds currently, and Percival said he hopes to raise enough money to install seven more in the spring. Percival said this new garden was created after the property owner saw the community garden the foundation had established outside of Senate's End.
"The owner of this lot saw what we were doing and said, Hey, I'd love you to come here and do something here,' and we jumped on that opportunity," Percival said. "We signed a lease, we went through a use-exception approval earlier this year, and then we raised money."
The non-profit's president said they hope to harvest the winter crops they planted Saturday in a few months.
He said their long-term goal is to raise money for more raised garden beds, rain barrels, a work shed, compost stations and an educational area.
Anyone who wants to get involved with the organization or the community garden can visit their website.