December 10, 2012
Plowing Food Deserts In the West Ward: Sowing Seeds for a Healthy Future; Spring’12 – Fall’12
Client: West Ward Neighborhood Partnership (a program of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley)
This clinic which completed their project in December, 2012 focused on finding ways of improving access to fresh produce in the West Ward of Easton a area of the city considered to be a food desert. As stated in the project’s final report, the goals of the project were to:
- We encouraged the use of bucket gardens to allow families to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs that might not be readily obtainable.
- We aimed to incorporate local schools and build onto the health-related education programs that they currently have.
- We looked to extend our efforts not only to enhance existing neighborhood gardens, but also to encourage West Ward residents to experience the benefits of gardening within the convenience of their homes.
- We considered distribution methods through mobile grocery trucks, community churches, and ethnic food markets.
Students: Alex Behette’13, Julia Seidenstein’14, Greg Troutman’13 and Helen Xu’14
Faculty: Dan Bauer and Lawrence Malinconico