Community garden collaboration takes root in Dallas

DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) -  Seeds for a new collaboration between the Meadows Foundation, New Friends New Life (NFNL) and Bonton Farms are beginning to take root in Dallas.

The organizations broke ground on their Liberty Street Garden Thursday, which will be selling organic fruits, vegetables and herbs to farmers markets, local restaurants and the community in the Wilson Historic District. 

But this garden is not only aimed at producing crops—it was created to give survivors of trafficking and exploitation a chance at rebuilding their lives through work experience and income. The garden will hire members enrolled in NFNL's Women's Program for at least 90 days. It plans to hire six women for six to nine months, with opportunity for promotion and growth.

"Our incredible partnership with The Meadows Foundation and Bonton Farms gives trafficking survivors a tangible opportunity to soar above the limits of their past and achieve their dreams," shared Bianca Davis, New Friends New Life's CEO. "Limited education, a criminal record and a sporadic or non-existent work history are major roadblocks to a woman's ability to leave the sex trade and become financially stable. Through Liberty Street Garden, we can now offer a bridge to economic empowerment." 

Bonton Farms is all about second chances. It's mission statement on its website reads: "We transform lives by disrupting systems of inequity, laying a foundation where change yields health, wholeness and opportunity as the norm."

"Bonton Farms has proven the therapeutic effects of urban farming on the mental health of marginalized and traumatized individuals, and the benefit of working the farms as a way to build resumes and help prepare those that participate to enter the workforce," CEO Daron Babcock said. "To be able to share this expertise with New Friends New Life to affect the lives of trafficked and exploited women is an embodiment of our agency's vision—to see the full potential manifest in every person we serve."

The first full year of the garden's operating costs will be paid for with a grant given to the Meadows Foundation, which has distributed more than $1.36 billion to 3,700 organizations across Texas.

The Liberty Street Garden is located at 510 Liberty Street, in the Wilson Historic District. For more information on how to support or volunteer, you can visit www.newfriendsnewlife.org or contact Kathleen Dooley, Chief HR and Operations Officer at kdooley@newfriendsnewlife.org.