Valiant Cross students use produce from the community garden they planted, through a partnership with Troy University, to sell at their newly opened food stand. Krista Johnson/Advertiser
Eighty milk crates lined with tarps, filled with dirt and sprouting with life are nestled in what had previously been an empty downtown parking lot, providing students at Valiant Cross the chance to learn about gardening — and entrepreneurship too.
Started in March 2017 thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, Troy University partnered with Valiant Cross to create a community garden that survives through the planting and maintenance work of the school's scholars, along with assistance from their parents.
While initially the project began as a means to teach the young men about the nutritional values of fresh produce, the second year of the project has added the goal of teaching another important life lesson. Through the addition of a food stand to sell that produce at Valiant Cross scholars are now tasked with running their own business.
Geared with green and Alabama Red okra, Chinese peppers, cabbage and much more, the scholars were taken through a 10-week course in preparation for the food stand’s opening on June 18, learning techniques like marketing, inventory and pricing.
“Gardening is hard work,” Sharon Everhardt, a Troy University administrative coordinator and assistant professor of sociology, said, adding that the stand will allow the scholars to witness their investment pay off. The project idea emerged through Everhardt’s attention to food insecurity issues, ignited after her move from Ohio to Montgomery four years ago.
Having moved from one agricultural state to another, Everhardt said she assumed there wouldn’t be a major difference in food cost. Putting the state’s 10 percent food sales tax aside, the price for food immediately created the sensation of sticker shock, she said.
Because of that, she said she has “a serious concern about people’s ability to obtain affordable fresh food," which led her to question what kind of situations people are forced to make about their eating habits here.
“If you have $5, are you going to buy a salad mix and tomato, or processed food that probably isn’t good for you?” she asked.
While the garden will instill the techniques needed to make your own garden at home, the stand will sell the produce at a low rate — giving people in the community the opportunity to afford it.
The funds from the stand will go back into the community garden with the hope that it will become self-sustaining.
Having participated in the project since its inception last year, 13-year-old Noah Waters said he hadn’t ever planted vegetables before his work in the community garden began. The addition of the food stand this year is the best part of the project, he said, referring to it as a “great opportunity” to have your own business.
His classmate, Bryant McMeans,13, agreed.
He also hadn’t worked in a garden before, a task that “took hard work and dedication to get it built,” McMeans said. He believes developing the skills necessary to sell what is harvested is the better part.
IF YOU GO:
What: Valiant Cross and Troy University food stand
Where: 301 Dexter Avenue
When: June 8, June 15, July 9 and July 16, 8-9 a.m. (check their Facebook page for August dates)