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Gwinnett Day Reporting Center Creates Community Garden
News From the Gwinnett Day Reporting Center
Harvest Gwinnett , a program of Live Healthy Gwinnett , was launched in 2019 to connect community members with handson environmental education , to improve local access to fresh produce and to nurture engagement opportunities leading to improved health outcomes . According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , community gardens act as health promoters decreasing mental and physical stress levels in adults while enhancing mobility , socialization and community impact .
In response to a growing need for access to fresh food , Harvest Gwinnett works alongside community partners to close the meal gap by implementing community gardens , nutrition education , food distributions and more . Harvest Gwinnett ’ s first community garden in Lawrenceville opened in May 2020 and has already produced more than 400 pounds of fresh food alternatives that have been distributed to families served by local co-operative services , housing authorities and senior food distribution programs . Continued partnerships with Gwinnett Parks and Recreation and UGA Extension Gwinnett has provided important guidance for these two new community gardens .
Gwinnett Day Reporting Center under the leadership of CA Puckett agreed to purchase a plot at the Rhodes Jordan Park as a way to give back to the community and the participants in the program . In March 2020 Counselor Hammonds and several probationers planted a vegetable garden that would help participants obtain heping hours for MRT . Participants accrued helping hours from the purchase of seeds , starter plants , mulch , plant food and hours worked in the garden . The benefits were twofold because the participants were also able to get fresh produce for themselves and their families . To date , the garden is flourishing and has been harvested twice .