Preventing Food Deserts

What is a food desert? The term “desert” can be misleading because most of us imagine a wasteland, where not much can grow. But a food desert is very different. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a food desert is an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. Millions of Americans live in a food desert, where there is plenty of food in their neighborhood, but none of it healthy. Together we will learn how we can change our own communities from food deserts into a food oasis.

The Growers’ Academy is a sixteen-week course which includes classes on topics such as soil preparation, nutrition, and community responsibility. Each class includes a 45-minute classroom lesson and 45 minutes working in the Center’s new Community Garden. The Growers’ Academy and Community Garden are sponsored and fully funded by our partners, CF Industries.