Misija NADE u urbanom vrtu

A mission of hope in an urban garden in Atlanta

Linked by Michael Levenston

The Atlanta Union Mission has transformed a vacant downtown lot into a garden filled with raised vegetable beds that are tended daily by the very men who inhabit the shelter and whose bounty will benefit the shelter’s kitchen. Photo from Atlanta Union Mission.
“Our own little Garden of Eden.”
By Adeline Chen
CNN – Eatocracy
May 16, 2011
Excerpt:
“We eat what we get. It’s not like I can say ‘I’m going to eat something healthy,’” says Joel, a resident of a downtown Atlanta shelter.
For Joel, and other homeless people like him, having a meal does not mean choosing between an organic pear and gorgonzola salad or locally-grown arugula with artisanal cheese. Instead, food options boil down to one thing: sustenance. The food is received mostly by donation, which means it’s often cheap, non-perishable, and generally less than healthy.

However, one Atlanta nonprofit, the Atlanta Mission, has recently taken the term “community garden” to a new level by adapting a vacant lot in the downtown area and transforming it into a garden filled with raised vegetable beds. It’s tended daily by the very men who inhabit the shelter and whose bounty will benefit the shelter’s kitchen.
This plot is manned by the most unassuming and unlikely gardeners. Ty, a former gang member with tattoos on his face, and Joel, a recovering addict, spend half their day pulling weeds, watering and pruning the multiple-bed garden in hopes that they’ll be able to harvest a successful bounty of fresh produce by the end of the season.