Summer 2022 | Page 24

A surprising community production takes center stage at Germantown ’ s arts center
food matters

Blackrock Reimagined

A surprising community production takes center stage at Germantown ’ s arts center
By Lynn Andreas Arndt i Photography by mike redwood

just a few short miles from the edge of the Agricultural Reserve is the only mobile home park in Montgomery County . One , a bucolic and beautiful oasis from the pandemic for area residents and the other , an impoverished community whose residents have been disproportionately impacted by the virus . The two areas , and those who live within , are now forever connected through The Upcounty HUB , as the foods grown in the Ag Reserve are distributed to those in need .

The HUB began during the pandemic with a simple request to BlackRock Center for the Arts to allow its lobby to be used to repackage a large donation of produce intended for the mobile home park . That first distribution served 23 families , but it provided the inspiration for people to come together to fill the gaps in food security in Upper Montgomery County . In the weeks and months that followed the HUB grew organically . Partnerships with local farms
24 plenty I summer growing 2022