The sound of my alarm harassed me at 7:50am Saturday morning, and I was at best grumpy to be up that early. Nevertheless, we somehow managed to get ourselves fed and into cars to go over to the William Byrd Community House at 9am. We were still picking the sleep out of our eyes as Sheryl, one of the wonderful people who work there, explained to us the ins and outs of the organization. I was very impressed by what she had to say. WBCH addresses many of the common urban problems that plague the low-income sections of cities in America today. One of the most notable was their emphasis on making organic fruits and vegetables available to everyone in the community through farmer\u2019s markets that accept food stamps as payment. The farmer\u2019s markets not only encourage business and healthy eating, but also foster a greater sense of community and relationship in the neighborhoods surrounding WBCH. This is important because around WBCH occurs this urban phenomenon of a \u201cfood desert,\u201d where access to fresh fruits and vegetables and a grocery store is severely limited to the neighborhood\u2019s residents who don\u2019t have cars or the money for bus passes.
\nThat is part of what makes what WBCH so remarkable; they have seen needs and are addressing them strategically and in many cases effectively. They are not only providing a farmer\u2019s market, but also child and adult education, nutritional education, after school care, community development, urban green space, and any other assistance someone might need.
\nWe got to take part of a very, very small part of this big picture. Our task was such: weed. Adrienne and I got to literally tear the soil apart looking for this pesky, invasive species that takes over if you don\u2019t kill it thoroughly. We didn\u2019t even come close to tackling the problem in WBCH\u2019s backyard, but it was a start \u263a Weed killing is surprisingly incredibly satisfying! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sound of my alarm harassed me at 7:50am Saturday morning, and I was at best grumpy to be up that early. Nevertheless, we somehow managed to get ourselves fed and into cars to go over to the William Byrd … Continue reading