Texas Health updates council on Bridgeport Community Garden; over 3,200 pounds of produce in under three years

Texas Health program staff told the Bridgeport City Council that the Bridgeport Community Garden at Payne Park has produced more than 3,200 pounds of produce in under three years and now includes a completed teaching barn and several community partners.

The report came during the council’s special presentations. “I’m Melanie Neswadome. I’m a program manager at Texas Health in our community impact department,” Melanie Neswadome said, introducing the project and noting the garden is in the third and final year of a three-year USDA grant.

The garden now has a “fully operating barn with a full kitchen, teaching space, meeting space, storage room, [a] cold room and an office space,” Neswadome said. Justin Parker, the garden’s full-time coordinator, told the council the volunteers and partners have helped move the project beyond the eight original beds. “We ran the numbers... over 3,200 pounds of produce that we’ve done in less than three years,” Parker said, and he noted a recent harvest of 84 pounds of turnips donated to Chico Meals on Wheels.

Parker and Neswadome described volunteer involvement and distribution. Parker said a range of local churches and nonprofits collect produce for local distribution, mentioning Assembly of God Church, First Baptist and U-turn Ministries among groups that have helped build beds or taken donations. Council members and audience speakers praised the garden’s community value.

Staff and volunteers described outreach and next steps. Neswadome said Texas Health plans to install a rain-collection system in the spring and that the program’s formal grant period ends in late June; she and Parker said they are seeking a long-term local coordinator or board to sustain the garden after the grant period. Parker said the garden logs substantial volunteer hours and would welcome additional volunteer groups and an ongoing local governance arrangement.

Council members asked about succession planning and who will run the garden after Texas Health’s grant ends. Neswadome said there has been conversation with churches and local groups but “nothing has come to fruition at this point.” Parker said volunteer coordination has centered on a handful of committed residents (including “Miss Mary” of the Bridgeport Lions Club) but that organizers hope a coalition of local churches and organizations will take ongoing responsibility.

The presentation closed with council appreciation for the project and an invitation to visit the site.

Members of the public and council characterized the garden as both a food source for residents and a community meeting place; no formal council action was taken on the presentation.