This August YAYA has continued to develop their relationship with St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Apopka, FL. Taylor Snider, Part-time YAYA Coordinator, and Katie-Beth Rohe went to the Winter Garden Community Garden with the organization Grow Orlando, headed by St. Luke’s member Frank Bailey. This project is organized by Grow Orlando and partially funded by St. Luke’s.
Grow Orlando and St Luke’s plan is to not only revitalize a community garden which once grew a large amount of produce, but also to revitalize a community center through a landscaping project. Their goal is to give the Winter Garden community access to high quality fruits and vegetables in what is considered to be a food desert. By giving community members unfettered access to nutrient dense nutrition` and offering a safe space for children of the community to garden and learn about food sovereignty, Grow Orlando is having a significant impact in their community.
The YAYAs spent Saturday morning getting their hands dirty with Frank Bailey and his team.
Weeds were whacked, friendships were made.
All in all it was a wonderful day in Central Florida and YAYA hopes to come back again and continue to serve the Winter Garden community.
Katie-Beth cleaning weeds.