Get Your Spring On in Athens Ohio!

Athens County, Ohio is ready for some garden action this year and our workshop series and garden

Mulching Pathways at the Nelsonville Community Garden

work parties are full of enthusiastic folks eager to get their hands dirty and their food growing.                  We’re doing something a little unique with our Grow Appalachia program: we’ve got three large garden beds in three different locations around the county dedicated to growing food for our local food pantries. These gardens are maintained by our “Donation Station Garden Stewards,” volunteers that are dedicating their time to make a difference to their friends and neighbors. As the county with the highest food insecurity rate in Ohio, the bleak problem of hunger is very real to us. However, we know that we as a community can make a difference and find solutions ourselves.

Planning Your Planting Workshop

Part of this is seen in our Workshop Series that covers the basics on organic gardening and food preservation. Our goal is to celebrate peer-to-peer education by utilizing local self-taught experts, because this demonstrates that anyone can do the work it takes to grow and prepare healthy foods.

Community Food Initiatives was especially happy this Spring to partner with United Plant Savers and workshop instructor Rebecca Woods for the “Bounty in Your Backyard” workshop that taught participants about wild edibles and wild medicinal plants. United Plant Savers, located in Rutland, Ohio, is a national treasure and a great ally in the fight for food security.

The Bounty in Your Backyard Workshop at United Plant Savers