4.20.2017: Grants Announced to Support 46 Local Community Gardens
Columbus
Public Health/Franklin County – Media Advisory
For
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Contact: Jose Rodriguez, 614-604-5025
Barb Seckler, 614-419-7716
Marty Homan, 614-525-5273
Jenn Wilson, 740-398-8371
Web – Facebook
– Twitter
Grants
Announced to Support 46 Local Community Gardens
Gardens
Support Local Food Action Plan by Improving Residents’ Access to Healthier
Foods
WHAT: The
City of Columbus, Franklin County, The ScottsMiracle-Gro Foundation, community
partners, grant recipients and residents will participate in an Earth Day event
to present grant awards to 46 community gardens that will improve residents’
access to healthier foods in neighborhoods.
WHO:
Craig Butler, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director; John
O’Grady, Franklin County Commissioner; Priscilla Tyson,
Columbus City Council President Pro Tem; Dr. Teresa Long,
Columbus Public Health Commissioner; Bruce Harkey, Franklin Park
Conservatory President & CEO; Su Lok, The ScottsMiracle-Gro
Foundation; and, Charissa Coleman-Muhammad, Fostering in the
Community.
WHEN:
April 21, 2017 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
ScottsMiracle-Gro
Community Garden Campus
1777 East Broad St.,
Columbus
DETAILS: Food access is a critical need in our community. One in five children in
Columbus is food insecure and more likely to experience chronic disease. Nearly one out of every
four Franklin County residents also has to travel 2.5 times farther to reach a
full-service grocery store than they do to reach a fast food restaurant. The
rate is as high as almost 40 percent in some neighborhoods.
Community
gardens support the Franklin County-Columbus Local Food Action Plan which provides
a framework for improving residents’ access to healthy, affordable and local
food. Under the direction of President Pro Tem Tyson, Franklin County
Commissioner O’Grady, Columbus Public Health, and partners at the city and
county – together with the input of more than 1,000 residents and stakeholders
– developed the collaborative community plan to develop and support a fair and
sustainable local food system that benefits the economy, environment and all
residents no matter where they live.
The
City of Columbus, Franklin County, the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical
Gardens, and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation have supported new and existing
local gardens in Central Ohio through the awards program for seven years.
MORE INFO: For more information on the event or
the Local Food Action Plan, visit www.publichealth.columbus.gov or www.franklincountyohio.gov.
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