NEWPORT, Ark. (KAIT) – A community garden project in Newport is growing along with the plants it cultivates.
The Newport Community Garden Initiative will be opening a new community garden at Helen and Kenneth Bullard’s farm in the coming weeks.
The project started as a way to provide produce to the community.
Months later, organizers say the project has been a success.
“It’s been a whirlwind. We have been very ecstatic,” said Michelle Johnson, project chairman of the Newport Community Garden Initiative.
The project was made possible through multiple partnerships, including the city, the Newport School District, and the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Johnson said the project has impacted families in the area. She shared the story of two girls she saw going to the garden.
“They were picking and placing the items in their shirts to take home to them,” she said. “The children had enough sense to come and get themselves some fresh vegetables instead of subjecting themselves to fast food, which we know has a critical impact on our community.”
Executive board member Sharon Pruitt said it has helped the elderly and handicapped, too.
“When we have our volunteers come out, we oftentimes have them pick greens or okra or peas, so that we can take them to some of these people who are asking, and we’re happy to do that,” she said.
Johnson and Pruitt estimate the garden impacts 60 families, anywhere between 200 and 300 people.
Johnson said the garden also has an economic impact on the community. She noted an instance where she saw a family trying to buy groceries at a store.
“They were trying to determine what they could or could not afford, and was putting back other things so they could buy the fresh produce,” she said.
The garden also provides opportunities for community service.
Johnson and Pruitt said the organization has plans to expand to four or five community gardens between now and fall 2026.
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