By Sheena Tesch
Community GroundWorks
As you drive down Troy Drive, you may have noticed the collection of community gardens and the children’s garden, but tucked behind the tree line is a 5-acre diversified vegetable farm. Troy Farm, along with Troy Community Gardens and Troy Kids’ Garden, is a project of the Northside nonprofit, Community GroundWorks. Farmers at Troy have been growing organic vegetables on this Northside location since 2001.
For many years, youth from Vera Court Neighborhood Center, Northport/Packers Learning Center and Kennedy Heights Community Center have visited the Kids’ Garden each week to help plant, grow and harvest fruits and vegetables in the garden and prepare delicious snacks in our outdoor kitchen. They have also enjoyed caring for our resident chickens, creating beautiful garden art and nature walks in the tallgrass prairie.
This year, the Troy Farm team expanded on those relationships by providing farm fresh produce to the community through discounted farm memberships and donated produce. The centers use that food in snack programs, cooking classes and to stock their food pantries. Patrina White, executive director of Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center, said, “We are appreciative of Troy Farm. The kids are always excited to see what’s on the program to pick and prepare.”
Troy Farm also partnered with Haywood Simmons’ Northside intervention and prevention program, Coach’s Club, to provide fresh produce for youth at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. Simmons also rented two plots in the Troy Community Gardens with the hope of generating interest in growing among Northside youth.
There are waiting lists for Troy Community Garden plots and Troy Farm Membership for the 2020 season. Email Sheena Tesch, sheena@communitygroundworks.org, for Troy Farm membership details, and Debra Willis, troy53704@gmail.com, to be added to the waiting list for Troy Community Garden plots.
