A YMCA gardening program in North Minneapolis is sowing seeds of hope in families struggling with food insecurity. Gardening program manager, Lyntrell Dickson, teaches kids as young as six, how to plant, harvest and cook nutritious food.
According to the Minneapolis Foundation, North Minneapolis has 36 convenience stores, and only one grocery store. Dickson agrees the area is a food desert, saying that's why it's important to provide the community, with access to fresh food.
"This is important because it exposes them to something that they may not otherwise be exposed to," said Dickson. "They're into the science aspect of it, we also get to talk about photosynthesis and how that affects the plants."
This summer alone, the kids have planted carrots, peppers, and tomatoes.
And it's not just fruits and vegetables, the kids have also planted tulips and xenias.
Besides science, the kids are also learning about geography. Dickson says the kids have learned how to grow herbs from different cultures. At the height of the pandemic, she started a virtual curriculum called "All Around the World."
"Each week, we pick a different country. We were in Italy with the pastas, or to India, and we did tikka masala." The Harold Mezile YMCA has a temperature controlled greenhouse, which Dickson says is open to community members, year-round.
"If there are people out there that want to learn how to grow their own fruits and vegetables, this place is always available. I can teach you how to grow plants and of course we may have some seedlings available for you to take home," said Dickson.
Dickson says the program is impacting families too. "They come back and tell me, 'Hey, we went to the grocery store and I did the perimeter, I was able to get some broccoli.' It's more so the kids going out to teach their family something that they may also not know."