Having grown up on a Lapeer farm, working soil comes second nature to Ginny Farah.
She probably hadn’t imagined she’d have similar experiences to the homesteading she knew when she married and moved to Genesee County. But, thanks to Edible Flint, Farah not only relives some of the joys of her youth, she shares her knowledge with both friends and strangers.
Formed in 2009, Edible Flint was born through a C. S. Mott Foundation grant, which supports residents in growing and accessing healthy food, while reconnecting them with the land and each other. Providing resources in areas ranging from garden development and maintenance to co-op and distribution for local growers, the organization promotes empowerment through nutrition.
“I really enjoy being out in the garden and providing vegetables,” Farah says.
As a lead volunteer, she oversees roughly 4,000 square feet of demonstration land at Fifth Avenue and Begole across from Hurley Medical Center.
Its convenient demonstration garden lets neighbors and even passersby not only get a first-hand look at high-performing planting, but gives them first pick of its bounty on scheduled giveaway days.
If you want to see what it takes to grow 1,700 pounds of produce, which is the volume complimentary produce the gardens distributed last year, stop by. Farah facilitates on-site demonstrations like “vertical gardening,” a variety of growing that could be started in back of a city lot.
“It kind of saves space and gives you an idea of what can be grown on a patch of land,” she says.
No matter where you live, you can grow, says Farah, who provides city residents without a lot of space with workable ideas on how to create high-yield gardens in even the smallest of spaces.
Outreach and education are just a component of Edible Flint’s work. The organization provides services to 826 personal and neighborhood gardens that have been developed since 2009.
The lead in Flint’s municipal water system has raised concerns about soil safety and related growing issues.
People need to feel safe about their home gardens.
That’s why Edible Flint is offering subsidized services that include soil testing and garden hose filters for just $5. Any Genesee County home is eligible to receive kits with seeds and flats for growing vegetables and fruits like lettuce, beets, greens, spinach, tomatoes, cabbage, and watermelon, to name a few.
“We go and show people how to prep their gardens to begin the season, how to put your garden to bed at the end of the year,” says Deb Hamilton, garden starters coordinator.
Other subsidized, pre-order services Edible provides include tilling and composting. A summer highlight is the annual Food Garden Tour that lets participants visit various sites throughout the community, ending with a gathering at Farmers Market and some of what Hamilton calls “the best ice cream you could ever have.” This year’s tour is July 27.
Leadership support for Edible Flint comes from MSU Extension Community Food Systems educator Terry McLean and other Michigan State University resources. Edible Leadership Board member and MSU assistant professor Rick Sadler volunteered with the organization during his grad school days as a geography student studying diseases and nutrition in urban environments. Sadler contributes research toward Edible’s program evaluation techniques.
“Honestly, I never had my own garden until a couple years ago, but my grandpa was a Polish guy who had a garden because that’s all he knew,” Sadler says. “You go out to your garden every day and you enjoy the peace.”
“I was interested in local food systems because of the implications of healthy eating and making it easier to eat healthier at low cost,” he adds. “When you grow and eat your own food there’s a sense of ownership.”
Edible provides specialty gardening tools that can be used by the disabled in school programs, in its attempt to include the entire community. In 2011 and again in 2013 the organization launched outreach to independent corner stores in lower-income Flint zip codes like 48504 and 48505, encouraging retailers to stock freshly grown produce. Michigan State will provide the survey’s results, Hamilton says.
AmeriCorps and local grocers have supported Edible Flint projects and demonstrations.
“There are a lot of foot soldiers out there trying to do everything they can to make sure knowledge is within everybody’s reach,” Hamilton says.
Meanwhile, Farah is happy to have a team of four full-time volunteers joining her at the demonstration garden this year. Along with supporting the larger mission, she says camaraderie with nearby residents and other passersby at the site has been rewarding.
“I enjoy working with the other volunteers,” she says, “and I love all the neighbors that I’ve gotten to know.”
For additional information about Edible Flint programs, including soil testing, garden hose filters and other ways to protect gardens from exposure to lead-contaminated water, visit www.edibleflint.org or call (810) 244-8530.
Lead Safety for the Garden
Irrigation with lead contaminated water does not significantly increase soil lead levels. If you are concerned about watering with lead contaminated water, you can:
• Purchase a lead filter that attaches to your garden hose
• Purchase a rain barrel or make a rain water catchment system that is best for your garden
• Work with Flint’s OASIS TEAM to get water pumped from the Flint river delivered to your garden
Source: Michigan State University Extension & Edible Flint
Growing Interest: Why Edible Flint’s gardening programs are attracting interest and support added by E.B. Allen on
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