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Local resident says Grove Garden is "up and running," links work to food-desert initiatives
Summary
Dorothy Scott Wilson told the CRA that the Grove Garden community project is active, cited GiveWell community foundation involvement and tied the garden work to broader food-desert and mobile pantry initiatives in Central Florida.
Dorothy Scott Wilson, a Lake Wales resident, told the Community Redevelopment Agency that the Grove Garden is active and has produced visible results in the Lincoln Avenue district and surrounding areas.
"The Grove Garden is very up and running," Wilson said. "It's beautiful and we've gotten some great things done as a result." She reviewed a brief packet with the board describing the garden's origin, community foundation connections and links to broader food-desert work in Central Florida.
Wilson told the CRA the garden effort connects to state and federal approaches to addressing food deserts, including community gardens, mobile food pantries, enhanced public transportation to food sources, urban agriculture and nutrition education programs. She also noted a March 5 event led by state Commissioner Wilton Simpson that included farm visits and a larger public demonstration of farm-to-table work. Wilson said GiveWell — a community foundation model she described as present in every county in Florida — has supported related local initiatives.
Wilson framed the Grove Garden as a local, citizen-driven complement to those larger programs and left materials with agency staff for follow-up. She offered to provide more information to any commissioner with questions.
