Jennifer Norton, executive director of The Greenway Table, said her inspiration for the garden was “a need to reconnect to land.”
She said the ultimate goal was to “to connect people and their food to enhance health.”
To let the community know more about the garden, Norton said The Greenway Table had a Farm to Table awareness dinner at Cafe Roma on Sunday. The dinner featured produce from the garden as well as other locally grown food.
As part of her goal to connect children to where their food comes from, Norton is partnering with Ocoee Middle and Prospect Elementary. “(Children) are more likely to eat a carrot if they grow a carrot,” Norton said.
Norton said these are pilot partnerships in which students come and work in the garden while applying what they are learning in science and math.
The fall menu for the garden includes broccoli, kale, collards, beets, turnips, lettuce and onions. Norton said they have also begun planting strawberries which should be ready next year.
The Greenway Table has also connected with the community by selling produce to local restaurants.
“There’s just something about families eating around the table,” Norton said, commenting that the garden wanted to promote community culture by enhancing and enabling the community with knowledge about food.
Norton also wants to support the local economy and help the environment through The Greenway Table.
The garden will continue to develop as the community becomes more interested, Norton said. She is excited about the interest that will be created when the Greenway extension project will take the Greenway closer to the garden.
The Greenway Table was started in Febuary 2009 when Norton received permission from Cleveland City Schools to use land behind the Ocoee Middle School soccer field. The garden includes some private property. The Greenway table is also a part of community-supported agriculture which allows a person to buy a share in a farm or garden, then receive part of the crop. For more information about The Greenway Table contact Norton at jnorton@thegreenwaytable.org.
