Kensington Farms Project

Sunday, August 22, 2010

What was once an unkempt lot strewn with bricks and litter will soon become Kensington Farms, a community-led project to introduce urban gardening and nutrition education to surrounding neighbors.

The lot is located next to the Fresh Start Foundation, a drug-treatment and social services center based in Kensington. Volunteers from Fresh Start, who have periodically maintained the property over the years, were out in full force during the City-wide Spring Cleanup to grade the lot with fresh soil. NKCDC, Fresh Start, and community leaders are now working to create raised beds to be filled with corn, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, and various herbs. Soil testing has been done on the land, but all growing will be done in raised beds.

"We want to assure neighbors that the food is safe,” explains Ade Fequa, the Kensington Area NAC Coordinator. In addition to Fresh Start volunteers, the farm team intends on identifying a handful of community ambassadors to regularly water and tend to the plants. Several neighbors have enthusiastically stepped forward, including Pastor Ronald Dawkins from Saved By Grace Church. Fruits and vegetables will be sold to Fresh Start, with the potential to partner with the Kensington Food Co-op in the future. The pilot project will last for 12 months, at which point neighbors and NKCDC staff will determine the overall sustainability of the farm.

This project is funded through a Community Leadership Institute grant offered by NeighborWorks America. For more information contact Jennifer Brodie at jbrodie@nkcdc.org.