NFL provides shed for sustainable farming in Detroit neighborhood
(CBS DETROIT) – Bringing sustainable solutions to traditionally marginalized communities is an initiative backed by the NFL.
To promote sustainable farming, members of the NFL and officials from the White House took part in a ribbon cutting on Thursday for a GroShed in a Detroit community.
"There are two players who have really led the way, Demario Davis and Josh Norman," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Goodell says Davis and Norman, two pro athletes leading the way in urban agriculture, inspired him.
"Our goal is to help communities become self-sustainable, and that's why we're here," said Davis, who is a New Orleans Saints linebacker.
"It's important because of how you can enrich others' lives in the community," said Norman, a cornerback.
On Thursday, the group Green Boots Veteran Community Horticulture Gardens and Marketplace in Detroit received a GroShed.
"GroSheds like this help communities because it's sustainable. It's giving access, whereas the discrepancies or lack of food thereof in the communities in the neighborhood. Food desserts, they are real, and they happen. But this is not one of them. We can come in, and you can grow your own food through hydroponics," Norman said.
Resources like this allow underserved communities to grow food quicker, healthier, and at a more economical rate, providing food, especially during cold winter months.
"We just believe in people, we believe when you create access for them, when you give them opportunity, great things will happen," said Davis.
It's an initiative bridging the gap on food insecurity.
"Detroit, you have something of your own. It's here, it's in your community, so just support it and get behind it," Norman stated.
Officials from Washington, including Senator Debbie Stabenow and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, also visited this event.
Many of these individuals are comparing this GroShed to the NFL draft, saying it's similar because you're watching a seed grow to support a community.
Davis and Norman started the sustainable farming initiative five years ago, bringing hydroponics to Minnesota, Buffalo, and now Detroit.
The Green Boots Veteran Community Horticulture Gardens and Marketplace is at 13500 Southfield Road in Detroit.