Tarrant County organizations work together to combat food shortages – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Volunteers at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden got to work early Friday, planting and watering garden beds in a fenced corner of the grounds.

“Part of our mission is to have an impact beyond the gates of the garden,” said Seth Hamby, director of living collections at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden.

Hamby wrote a grant proposal to the Urban Agriculture Resilience Program of the United States Botanic Garden and the American Public Gardens Association, which awarded him $19,000 to fund a community garden partnership with the Union Gospel Mission Tarrant County.

All of the vegetables grown throughout the year, several thousand pounds of vegetables, are donated to the Union Gospel Mission to help them provide nutritious meals to people suffering from food insecurity.

“This is one way to do that,” Hamby said. “By producing food that feeds people in difficult situations.”

“This is a gift of love to the community to provide them with healthy, stable food for their tables and families,” said Tarrant County volunteer and gardener Erica Fisher. “Because it's hard. It's hard to live in a country that has so much and still struggle to feed the homeless and take care of yourself. It's a lot to process. A LOT to process.”

The garden is also a way to teach the community and volunteers where their food comes from. “It's not available on the supermarket shelf,” said Stephen Jayson, project coordinator for the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, noting that growing food in North Texas is difficult. “I think most people realize that we don't have an easy climate. It's either damn hot or we have ice storms!”

In order for the autumn fruits to be ready for harvest in time, it is important to plant them in the summer heat.

“You appreciate it more because you know what it takes to make what you consume grow,” Fisher said.

“It's really a great joy to grow vegetables and know that they are being used well and EXTRAORDINARY well. You know that it's benefiting disadvantaged and malnourished people,” said Jayson. “It's extremely satisfying.”

The Fort Worth Botanical Garden Community Garden Project is one of 26 public garden partnerships across the United States receiving funding to help educate and address food insecurity in communities.