Family garden provides produce for community

INDIANAPOLIS — At the Elephant Gardens, a assemblage plot connected the city's northeast side, 4 generations of household members are moving unneurotic to marque a affirmative interaction and marque definite their neighbors person good, healthy, nutrient-dense foods.

“Pun intended it was a precise integrated process, right? It wasn't intentional astatine first. We started successful our backyard conscionable increasing nutrient for ourselves,” said Vivian Muhammad, co-owner of The Elephant Gardens located astatine 3348 N. Sherman Dr. “I won't accidental we turn it all, but we turn a lot.”

On immoderate fixed day, you tin spot 3 women and their household members harvesting, watering, increasing and changing their community.

“It's a household matter and were it not for everyone participating, we could not propulsion this off,” Muhammad said.

Muhammad works with her mom, daughter, sons and grandchildren astatine the gardens.

Their eastbound broadside vicinity is simply a nutrient desert.

“We truly don't person overmuch successful a mile radius astatine all. Two-mile radius, three-mile radius, five-mile radius, we don't person a batch of entree to nutrient-dense produce. Food godforsaken is benignant of a misnomer due to the fact that there's nutrient here, but it's conscionable not the close food. It's not the astir nutrient-dense food,” said Muhammad.

What started arsenic a backyard plot for themselves has present turned into a assemblage garden, a spot their neighbors tin travel and acquisition nutrient-dense produce.

“As the concern changed successful our neighborhood, our ngo benignant of was shaped by the what was happening successful our community,” said Muhammad.

They enactment with EBT and Fresh Bucks, allowing everyone successful the country the accidental to bargain their caller integrated produce.

Muhammad said COVID-19 truly highlighted the request for steadfast foods due to the fact that their assemblage was deed hard by the virus.

“Why? Well, it deed hard due to the fact that of the comorbidities, the things that we were already suffering from — the diabetes, the precocious humor pressure, the bosom disease, the obesity,” Muhammad said. “All of these comorbidities existed agelong earlier COVID, and we already had a pandemic arsenic acold arsenic diabetes was concerned.”

She said making a affirmative interaction successful the assemblage she’s called location for decades makes each the hard enactment worthy it.

“We’ve lived successful this vicinity since 1970, and truthful we've seen it spell done a batch of changes,” Muhammad said. “We've seen market stores unfastened and close. We've seen schools unfastened and close. We've seen the vicinity wholly shift, and truthful being capable to adhd a affirmative vigor backmost into our ain community, that's truly the champion reward that we could inquire for.”

You tin travel bargain their caller nutrient 4 days a week connected the eastbound broadside astatine 3348 N Sherman Drive. They are unfastened for marketplace from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays and 8 a.m.-noon Fridays.