The Buckeye Area Development Corporation partnered with the Filtrexx Foundation Family Gardening Initiative and the Healthy Eating & Active Living (H.E.A.L.) Initiative to bring 150 backyard gardens to families in the Buckeye, Larchmere, Woodland Hills on May 12.

The Buckeye Area Family Garden Initiative™ is the first of its kind in Cleveland.  It aims to bring healthy food and eating back to households with backyard gardening. Through the Buckeye Area Family Garden Initiative, 150 families received an easy-to-use, above ground backyard gardening system, complete with plants, seeds, and the training and education needed to have a thriving garden.

The program uses the unique GardenSoxx^® growing system for planting. GardenSoxx are mesh sleeves stuffed with organic soil that can be used on any surface. This system is ideal for urban environments. The garden initiative is made possible by support from Saint Luke’s Foundation, Neighborhood Progress Inc., Third Federal Savings and Loan, Neo Restoration Alliance, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Healthy Eating & Active Living, Cleveland Food Bank, and Benedictine High School.

Radiah Douglas, project manager at the Buckeye Area Development Corporation, said the program provides tools and hands-on support to teach families how to garden, and compost bins, rain barrels, watering cans, freezing kits and workshops from community partners Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Environmental Health Watch and FreshLink.

“The initiative helps build a healthier community,” Douglas said. “The program provides fresh produce to our neighborhoods, but it also teaches families simple gardening practices they can use to sustain their gardens for years to come.”

Vedette Gavin, who leads the H.E.A.L. Initiative, said that families in the community have said they want better access to fresh foods. The Buckeye Area Family Garden Initiative helps families eat healthy the way generations before did, with fresh food grown right at home.

“GardenSoxx gardens are low maintenance and are installed in a matter of minutes, which make it a great way for our neighbors to learn how to garden and give them access to fresh food,” Gavin said. “We expect these 150 gardens to provide 1,000 pounds of food for families this year.”

About H.E.A.L.

The Healthy Eating & Active Living (H.E.A.L) Initiative is a community led partnership of residents, businesses and community organizations in the Buckeye, Larchmere and Woodland Hills neighborhoods. HEAL works to improve the health of the Buckeye, Larchmere and Woodland Hills by making healthy eating and active living a part of the culture and everyday living in the neighborhood. H.E.A.L.’s work is made possible by The Saint Luke’s Foundation, and the CASE Center for Reducing Health Disparities at MetroHealth. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/HealthyLivingBLWH.

About Buckeye Area Development Corporation The Buckeye Area Development Corporation (BADC) was established as a 501(c) (3) community based non-profit corporation in 1970 to serve the redevelopment and community building needs of the Buckeye-Woodland Hills neighborhood.  The mission of the Buckeye Area Development Corporation is to Plan, Organize, Develop and Coordinate resources and activities that will empower the community at-large to enhance the quality of life through positive revitalization, stabilization, and growth in the Buckeye Area of Cleveland, Ohio.  The BADC has instituted programs that would assist in the mitigation of factors negatively affecting the quality of life in the Buckeye-Woodland neighborhood.  The role of the BADC in the Buckeye -Woodland neighborhood is to act as the agent of change by mobilizing individuals/stakeholders and programs as a means of improving the quality of life issues.

About The Filtrexx Foundation:

The Filtrexx Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on supporting environmentally conscious projects around the country. The Filtrexx Foundation serves as the starting point and partner for organizations by providing an avenue to receive the funding and resources necessary to initiative and execute their projects. The Filtrexx Foundation seeks to turn every food desert into a food oasis, every brownfield into a greenfield, make impervious surfaces permeable, and turn blight to bright. For more information, visit www.filtrexxfoundation.org.