It Happens Here: Roxbury's Dudley Greenhouse Gives Residents Chance To Grow Their Own Food
ROXBURY (CBS) - A major effort is underway to tackle food insecurity in Roxbury and the surrounding neighborhoods of Boston.
"When I first came here, we didn't have that much access to fresh vegetables and fruit," Andrea Long told WBZ-TV.
That is changing, slowly but surely. Andrea is one of the growers at the Dudley Greenhouse on Brook Avenue, a 10,000-square-foot facility right in the heart of the neighborhood. There, residents like Andrea have a chance to grow their own food.
"I enjoy when I'm making my salads or sauteeing my vegetables," she says. "It's a good feeling."
And there is a need in this community. Recent data show Roxbury with the highest rate of food insecurity in the city, with more than 20 percent of the residents in need.
Danielle Andrews helps run the Dudley Greenhouse for the organization The Food Project, saying they're doing "our part in supporting both the growers and educators that already exist in this neighborhood."
And it goes beyond the greenhouse. The Food Project also helps run two farms situated right in the neighborhoods. They employ teenagers every summer to grow and learn and they're helping people build their own gardens at home.
"We started the Build a Garden program in response to people who wanted to grow their own food and had lead-contaminated soil," Andrews said. "We've built, at this point, close to 1,500 raised-bed gardens throughout Boston and Lynn."
Combined, all those steps can help chip away at food insecurity, and Andrea's an example of that.
"Now I have my neighbor that lives next door, he has a little plot and he's growing vegetables and we kind of have a little competition in the summertime to see who's going to grow the tallest tomatoes," she says.
And by the way, Andrea wins that competition.
To learn more about the Dudley Greenhouse and The Food Project, click here.