Growth of Grow Palmer appreciated

To the editor:

At the close of the first season of the Grow Palmer Project, we would like to take a moment to thank the community and fill you in on the success and impact this project has had. As many of you know, the project grew out of a desire to increase the health and vibrancy of our community by changing our narrative around food. We set out to do so using an entirely volunteer-driven approach.

We could not be more pleased with the result! More than $8,000 was generated through the tremendous support of the Palmer Museum of History and Art, the Mat-Su Health Foundation, the city of Palmer and numerous local business owners and residents. The project brought together all facets of the community.

Not only did many people share in harvesting and eating locally grown food throughout the growing season, but in addition to the business owners, farmers, city officials and volunteers who worked toward bringing this project to light, numerous children, local residents and summer visitors, borough officials, health care providers and public agencies began talking about food in an entirely new context. The dialog included discussions of local food resources, food scarcity and security, healthy foods and nutrition, hunger issues, food education and childhood obesity, all in conjunction with community development.

Additionally, more than $2,600 worth of labor and materials was donated this first year, and more than 750 hours of time was volunteered by local residents. After the final harvest was in, the remaining greens and herbs were donated to the Food 4 Kids Program at the Boys and Girls Club in Wasilla.

Collectively, we learned a tremendous amount this first summer. We understand we need to organize a team of volunteers much earlier in the spring to coordinate the different aspects of the program. We learned a great deal about which plants grow best in specific areas, as well as which varieties continue to produce throughout the entire growing season. We have learned we need better signage in specific gardens, we need to print and distribute more maps depicting the harvestable areas and we need to improve our outreach to the farming community. And perhaps most importantly, we discovered the breadth of people who are interested in participating in a project designed to enhance the livability and health of our community.

A healthy community is one that encapsulates both the health of people and place. Here, people can be physically healthy and live in a neighborhood that is thriving socially and economically.

Is food access critical to the creation of a healthy community? If it provides people with the ability to eat a more nutritious meal, then yes. If it helps strangers to become neighbors while discussing the beauty of a freshly picked handful of Swiss chard, then absolutely. If it makes a community more desirable for its residents and more economically viable, then yes.

Grow Palmer hopes to continue this program next year. We thank you all for your enthusiasm and hope you will continue to support this ongoing volunteer project.

Jan Newman

Grow Palmer Team