Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Gospel Tabernacle Church, Arington Foundation and SCORE International Ministries have partnered to establish a “health and holiness” garden behind The Gathering Place Restaurant at 1827 Broad St.
The three groups have worked with AmeriCorps volunteers to plan and build the garden for the past two weeks and on Friday, volunteers were at work planting all manner of vegetables including tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, cucumbers, melons and all manner of herbs.
Gospel Tabernacle First Lady Cece Grayson expressed her admiration for the volunteers on Friday as the worked to fill the square foot raised beds with the young plants.
“They are master gardeners,” said. Grayson. “They really know what they’re doing.”
Jeff Zurcher of Arington Foundation called the community garden a learning experiment where seasoned gardeners and novices alike could work together and raise vegetables to share.
Zurcher has helped with similar projects in Ohio, where Arington Foundation began, and said that community gardens provide people with a sustainable resource.
“It’s a ‘teach a man to fish’ kind of thing,” he said.
“They won’t just be getting healthy food though,” said Grayson. “We’ll be sharing lifestyle tips with them as well. We’re taking care of the whole person.”
Jewel Thornton, a retired teacher who resides in the neighborhood, said the garden would be an asset to the community.
“This garden will provide vegetables to people so they won’t have to be so dependent in times of need,” she said. “During a crisis, some of these vegetables could be hard to find.”