Community Garden Grows for a Good Cause

MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – In preparation for the fall season, volunteers at the Milledgeville Community Garden are digging up dirt for a good cause.

Since the garden on Southside Drive first took root, volunteers have turned the old tucked away playground into a flourishing plot. The garden is now equipped with over 100 plots, a pumpkin patch, herb garden, kids area and several fruit trees. Everyone, including Milledgeville Community Garden Association’s Jim Lidstone wants to take the project to the next level.

“Our goal is to try to get healthy food in the hands of people who really need it,” Lidstone said.

So in an effort to reach the goal, the fruits and vegetables will be donated to Café Central, a local soup kitchen that serves about 400 people a day. Garden Manager Tiffany Matthews says by expanding their outreach the garden can give back and show people how to stand on their own.

“It’s about teaching them how to grow their own food and how to be more food dependent,” Matthews said.

In this troubled economy, Matthews said the reality of hunger is growing in their own backyard.

“It’s a problem in a lot of places, people are food insecure. They don’t know where there food is going to come from,” Matthews said.

The Milledgeville Garden Association says community gardens offer a healthy alternative that everyone can afford.

“If everybody grew their own food,” Matthews said. “They would save a lot of money at the grocery store.”

For more information on the garden, visit the website at http://mvillegarden.wordpress.com/.