Third Street Community Harvest

One of the basic tenants of a fulfilled life is taking care of basic physical needs: shelter, rest, water and food.

Unfortunately for many, health food options are few and far between. A healthy lifestyle includes the consumption of nutritious fruits and vegetables, but not all populations have equal access to these pillars of proper nutrition.

The areas surrounding Greenville’s Third Street Community Center face this issue.

The Third Street Community Harvest team aims to provide nutritious health access to underserved communities.

The average household in West Greenville, where the center is located, boasts an average income of $23,000 per year and spends just $475 per year on fruits and vegetables. In addition, 39 percent of households in West Greenville do not own a vehicle, making access to grocery stores very problematic.

Due to the lack of nutritional resources and built-in barriers limiting options to receive healthy food option, West Greenville is considered a food desert — an urban neighborhood without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.”

The solution

To combat the food desert problem in West Greenville, a new business in the region has been proposed.

Third Street Community Harvest is a social business focused on returning profits to address the social need of healthy food options in West Greenville. This business will partner with Third Street Community Center to bring access to affordable, healthy food choices and education about gardening and healthy lifestyle choices to the surrounding community.

Third Street Community Harvest is a socially-conscious business creating a community garden in the heart of the Third Street neighborhood. The center is located in the food desert region and is within walking distance of most of the population of West Greenville. This garden is principally for the people, planted by the people, and maintained by the people.

The entrepreneurial garden will be used to yield produce which can be sold to local fresh markets, restaurants and individuals. Initially, the entrepreneurial garden will use volunteers to do the majority of the work and the initial proceeds will be allocated towards offsetting cost incurred in the initiation of Third Street Community Harvest. As revenue increases, it will be reinvested into the community garden to aid in hiring community members to tend the garden and for future operations and yearly upkeep, with a portion ultimately being donated to Third Street Community Center to benefit its arts programs.

The garden will encompass 2 acres and will be established and sustained by the combined efforts of Third Street Community Harvest, community partners and neighborhood residents. These 2 acres will be subdivided into 40 leased or subsidized plots 10’ x 20’ with 3’ pathways and an entrepreneurial market garden used to grow vegetables for sale.

Expected growth

As Third Street Community Harvest gathers more sponsors and family interest increases in the community garden, more plots will be added so families and individuals in the community can lease their own plot and access land ready for cultivation. Those that choose to lease plots will have the option of donating crops back to Third Street Community Harvest for resale. In addition to the benefit of having fresh-grown foods, the center believes that the values of hard work, perseverance and patience will be instilled in those that participate in the garden.

Third Street Community Harvest will take advantage of local community engagement efforts of companies like Lowes Home Improvement, Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Weeks Seed Company and Agri Supply by asking for donations and applying for seed grants that will aid in the development and expansion of the community garden.

For families who wish to lease a plot but do not have the money, Third Street Community Harvest will approach local businesses, faith-based organizations and nonprofits asking them to sponsor a family plot in the community garden.

Third Street Community Harvest’s goals directly align with Third Street Community Center’s endeavors to create “like-minded partnerships” in an effort to “equip the people of our community in ways that bring dignity and a hopeful future.” In a joint effort to reach the community with education and the arts, the center will integrate the Third Street Community Harvest into their current marketing campaign and advertise the community garden, its fresh produce and the benefits of learning to make healthy choices throughout the West Greenville area.

Third Street Community Harvest will work with Third Street Community Center Director Walter Strathy, members of the Board of Directors of the Lucille W. Gorham Inter-Generational Community Center INC, the West Greenville Garden Network, Pitt County Master Gardeners, the United Way, Building Hope Community Life Center and various churches in the local area. These organizations will supply support and volunteers because the success of Third Street Community Harvest will be a direct benefit to the community.

For example, Master Gardeners are required to volunteer their time to both attain and retain Master Gardener status. With the help of the gardeners, gardening knowledge will be shared with constituents allowing them to garden small plots of land in the community garden. This will negate one of the greatest detriments to the success of the Third Street Community Harvest – namely the lack of knowledge in the community about how to garden and care for plants. Third Street Community Center also has a wide base of regular volunteers that would contribute time as well to the expansion, cultivation, and sustenance of the community garden.

Visit the community garden and the Third Street Community Center online for more information on how both are impacting the West Greenville region.