Beets

The mountains of North Carolina provide perfect weather for growing beets.  So perfect, in fact, that beets were the featured food at Black Mountain Elementary School's recent garden tasting.  The school garden and a nearby community garden are centerpieces of the Eat Smart Black Mountain Fit Community project.

Fit Community is a grant program designed for North Carolina communities with the goal of increasing routine physical activity and healthy eating through diverse partnerships, promotions, programs, policies, and physical projects.  Active Living by Design and the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund worked closely to design and implement the grant program, and Active Living by Design provides technical assistance to applicants and to grantees.

The school and community gardens were created with three main goals in mind: 1) allow the community to grow its own food, especially residents without their own land; 2) provide garden maintenance, garden science, and nutrition education to school groups from elementary to college age; and 3) aid in feeding lower-income families in the Swannanoa Valley, the region in which Black Mountain is located, through the donation of garden produce to local non-profit organizations.

The community garden began in 2005, spearheaded by a 93-year-old retired pediatrician with a passion for gardening.  Dr. John Wilson was an integral part of the community garden long before Black Mountain became a Fit Community partnership.  The garden actually started in Dr. Wilson's backyard, but a more recent land donation enabled its relocation.  In its new spacious location, the garden has grown from 40 plots in 2007 to 60 plots in 2008. 

The community garden is open year-round with access to all community members. Currently, there are about 30 private plot renters who plant during the spring, summer, and fall.  The partnership promoted the plots through the Town of Black Mountain Parks and Recreation Department's spring brochure, which was distributed through local newspapers and schools.  The community garden was also promoted at local events, gaining much of its popularity through word of mouth in the community.  The wide array or promotional efforts worked, drawing a variety of renters.  Katie Towner, a Health Services Program Administrator for the Town of Black Mountain, marvels at the mix of people who utilize the garden.  "It's amazing how broad the use is," she said.  "People who don't even know each other are sharing plots in our garden."  In addition to plot renters, 10 college and 10 elementary school students are regular volunteers, primarily helping to maintain the beds.  A supervisor is currently being trained to oversee all activity at the community garden. 

Located just down the road, the school garden has also been popular with students and teachers alike.  The raised beds outside the school have served as the site for weekly or monthly planting and harvesting by students.  Harvests are followed by much anticipated tasting sessions, which incorporate a nutrition education component.  For example, the beet harvest allowed students to try a raw beet salad, roasted beets, and a rosemary beet soup.  After the tastings, children are given healthy recipes to take home.  Towner recalls the surprise success of a cabbage tasting with one younger student:  "He was just jumping up and down and yelling ‘I love cabbage, I love cabbage!' ".  Teachers also love the new additions to their school day. "I've been so surprised at the overwhelming enthusiasm by teachers to get those kids out in the garden," Towner said. 

The success of the school and community gardens led Fit Community leaders in Black Mountain to declare these programs permanent community fixtures.  "It's amazing how the town has taken this on and really supported the gardens," Towner said.  "We are getting support from everyone: teachers, principals, parents, volunteers..."  With the long standing support of community members such as Dr. Wilson, and the new, ever-growing enthusiasm from the youngest generation, the gardens in Black Mountain are on the path to a sustainable future.  Please pass the beets!

Resources

Fit Community Designation Grants Program
North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund
Video: Dr. Wilson on the Black Mountain Community Garden
UNC-TV NC Now Feature on Black Mountain