A local group is planting the seeds to bring fresh produce to the community table, straight from the garden.
The Lima Sustained Production on Urban Tracts (SPROUTS) group planted the first seedlings for their new community-supported agricultural program.
The SPROUTS is a pilot entrepreneurial program designed to teach people how to turn unproductive urban lots into agricultural plots, using their seeds of knowledge to create fresh local jobs and fresh local food.
"A friend of mine and I, we were part of a community group last year, several local organizations, and we were talking about how to bring fresh produce to the area," says SPROUTS chairman Rob Cotrell. "We went to the Stinner Summit and we started talking with the group there and we ended up with what they call seed money."
Seed money in the form of a $10,000 grant from the Stinner Summit, which is a part of The Ohio State University's Agroecosystem Management Program. The first crops they're planting will be all things green, from spinach and kale to Salanova lettuce and green onions. Once it is time to harvest, the veggies will be boxed up and the community can purchase the fresh-from-the-garden local produce.
"The ultimate goal is just to bring locally grown fresh produce into the community," says Cotrell. "We think that you get a better nutritional value when it's fresh versus being trucked a thousand or two thousand miles, so I think that will be an improvement for the community in general and what we have, I guess, that we don't sell, we'll hand out to the local food banks.
The first round of boxes are expected to be available for sale in early June.
