Lawrence Community Gardens helps feed community

LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — A community garden is helping provide fresh produce to people in need. 

It’s called Lawrence Community Gardens and it’s at 46th Street and Post Road. 

It all started after a woman named Sherrona Moore realized the land behind the Monarch Beverage distribution center could be used to grow food. 

She has a certificate in urban agriculture and was looking for a project that would impact the community.

She wrote Monarch a letter asking if she could use an acre of their land. The company gave her 7.6 acres and have helped get the garden started. 

Moore says last year they grew about 8,000 pounds of food. They grow chickpeas, carrots, herbs, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and many other items. There are also chickens on the farm.

There’s also a farm stand where people can buy the food. Much of the food is also donated to local food pantries. 

For Moore, this work is important for a number of reasons, including that it provides fresh produce in an area where that can be hard to find for some people. 

A report from the Indy Food Council said the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that more than 200,000 people lived more than one mile from a grocery store or supermarket in Marion county.

“It gives my heart so much pleasure. When people are like, Oh my God, we didn’t know you were here,’ or they thank you for doing the work that you do —  because I’m a volunteer here, too,” said Moore.

“It’s important for people to see that, we’ve taken actions into our own hands to provide food for our neighborhood. We’re not waiting around for someone to come in and build a grocery store here to help us get food, we are able to provide that for our own community. There’s enough land here with the help of monarch, to grow food for the residents on the far east side with food,” she said. 

The garden is always looking for volunteers. For more information, visit the Lawrence Community Gardens website.