By Jimmy Lawton

Locals on the West Side have turned a plot of city land in to an urban crop farm.

The Massachusetts Avenue Project has worked with locals to create this ½ acre garden which has become a food source for West Side residents.

MAP is a community group dedicated to developing social and economical growth on the West Side. Currently MAP is working on a project calledthe Growing Green Urban Agricultural program. About 30 youths are involved with the program, their ages range from 12 to 18 years old and offers them several benefits.

• paid part-time work for 20 hours a week

• experience in planting, growing and harvesting vegetables

• experience in creating products as well as selling them

MAP runs the eight-week program in the summer as well as throughout the school year. During winter months the students work on side projects, which include creating and marketing their own salsa line, and cooking programs that teach students to prepare and cook meals.

Students work with coordinators to cultivate MAP’s half-acre garden.  Most of the produce is sold by youths in a stand in front of the garden once a week. However Diane Picard, the project coordinator, said that food is also taken to tenants of Santa Marie Towers to provide the elderly with convenient access to affordable food.

“We try to create access to healthy and affordable food for those who are unable to get it. Many people on the West side don’t have access to vehicles,” Picard said.           

Since the programs creation in 2002 MAP has expanded the growing green project. It originally consisted of only a garden, but they have since added the marketing and cooking aspects of the program. This expansion is something MAP would like to continue.

“We want to continue to create positive things for kids to do and find innovative ways to bring affordable food to the inner city,” Picard said.

Jimmy Lawton can be contacted at Ripbrutus@hotmail.com