Urban farmers help neighbors with healthy food
Vegetables picked fresh in the middle of East Side will help ease hunger
Under gray skies Friday, cheerful volunteers and officials gathered at the Greenies Urban Farm in the heart of the East Side to help distribute nearly a ton of fresh veggies to those who don’t always get enough to eat.
Boxes full of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and collard greens — about 1,800 pounds of the healthy food — went to various organizations to be given to residents who need fresh produce but may not be able to afford it.
Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert of Precinct 4 and other officials spoke about the positive health benefits of the veggies and how they can help residents during the pandemic.
“There are tremendous gaps in terms of people who are not getting food right now,” Calvert said Friday at the East Side farm.
“So many of our poor working class have vitamin deficiencies,” Calvert added. “And those vitamin deficiencies make you more susceptible to getting sick, to getting COVID, to getting the flu.”
The harvest kicked off the “Food Is Medicine” initiative Calvert has with University Health System. The goal of the initiative is to track how fresh vegetables heal low income residents with serious health conditions, Calvert said.
The initiative starts by looking at participants in Carelink, a financial assistance program for residents who do not have insurance. It provides them with a variety of vegetables.
Vegetables are full of nutrients and can have numerous health benefits. Broccoli, for example, has been shown to help reduce cholesterol and blood sugar. Cabbage may reduce the risk of some forms of cancers, while kale is good for the heart and can help lower blood pressure.
“We want to be the gateway of health for the East Side community,” said Dr. Suhaib Haq, the medical director of the Robert. L.M. Hilliard Center. “Having healthy nutrition readily available without any strings attached is a great source of comfort for us as providers that our patients are in good hands.”
Santa Claus, Navy veteran
Ben Hernandez, gave several boxes full of fresh produce to doctors and nurses with the Hilliard Center.
“As we develop this program, all of our clinics — the 22-plus clinics, the University Health Hospital — will have fresh vegetables when you come to the doctor,” Calvert said.
Additional boxes went with Linda Tippins and Beverly Watts Davis to WestCare, as well as Rita Bethany and other San Antonians, to be given to 80 seniors in the East Meadows area.
Other participating organizations included the Ella Austin Community Center, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Garcia Street Urban Garden, San Antonio Fighting Back and the Baptist Ministers Union. The event was also organized by Neighborhoods First Alliance.
Before the distribution Friday, the urban garden had given 1,200 pounds of veggies to the San Antonio Food Bank.
The crops were planted in October on an acre of the East Side farm, which used to be an empty, overgrown lot known as the Goonies. Though only one acre has been planted, officials hope to clear the remaining nine acres for more crops and an orchard.
They also want to make room for an office for the Bexar County Agricultural Extension Service, an indoor wedding and event center, an outdoor classroom for up to 100 people and a venue for live music.
The crops were mainly produced by volunteers with the help of the San Antonio Master Gardeners.
To volunteer at the urban farm, call the ag extension service at 210-6310400.