Franklinton Gardens is working with Franklinton residents, neighborhood agencies, volunteers, and donors to transform the neighborhood from a community that struggles with food insecurity and poverty, into a thriving community with easy access to healthy and delicious food. They have been able to cultivate a vibrant foodscape of fruit and vegetable gardens. Last year they DONATED 3,000 pounds of nutrient dense, organic produce from five of their edible gardens to income-restricted neighbors. These urban gardeners have turned what were once neglected and vacant parcels into life sustaining farm fresh food and have shared their bounty of delicious organically grown vegetable and fruits with their neighbors. They also run a Franklinton Produce Stand which is centrally located and accepts SNAP/EBT/Food Stamps. In 2016, they hope to increase production to 12,000 lbs of food, valued at $40,000. PFW has provided them with a grant award so that they can undertake an educational project that will help them create a new piece of public art that will consist of three 4’x8′ art panels at this market stand which will serve as permanent fixtures to educate and inspire neighbors. The panels will instill the knowledge that eating healthy is so very important. The panel will be drawn out by local artists and the subject matters will be broken into a paint by numbers scheme so that neighbors can all partake in the painting of the murals.
