MILWAUKEE -- The Victory Garden Initiative is expanding -- in an effort to continue to combat food security and promote healthy ecosystems in Milwaukee.
Gretchen Mead is the Executive Director of the Victory Garden Initiative and she's looking forward to expanding the organization's footprint in the community with a new farm to table kitchen located across the street from the current farm.
"What we hope to be able to do is harvest that food from the farm and use it here in the kitchen or here to serve the neighbors or here in really any capacity," said Mead. The farm grows seasonal vegetables and herbs like dill, cilantro, oregano and thyme.
This summer the Victory Garden Initiative is also helping children learn about healthy ecosystems and growing fresh food through its YEP program (Youth Education Program). "You see an immediate result they change their diets over a season because they're growing and eating the food they're very proud of that," said Mead.
Mariah Conners is a participant this summer and she wants to have her own garden one day. "I learned about weeds, I learned about the different type of
trees and we just discoverd this tree that has this fruit and it was nice and we had tasted it," said Conners.
With YEP and a new kitchen, Mead looks forward to educating the community even more.
"I really wanted to just foster those kinds of greenspaces where you could just harvest everything you were eating and I felt like it was a really importantplace where we could change an institution that doesn't serve everyone equally," said Mead.
