Underserved and Homeless to Enjoy Fresh Vegetables
On Friday, April 20 Neyer Properties and community partners planted the second annual Keystone Community Garden at Keystone Parke in Evanston. Produce grown at the community garden will be donated to the Over-the-Rhine (OTR) and Walnut Hills Kitchens and Pantry.
Around fifty volunteers worked from 10 a.m. to noon to till and plant a 60- by 120-foot garden on vacant land located off Realistic Avenue in Evanston, between Neyer Properties’ Keystone Parke headquarters and the American Red Cross regional headquarters.
The garden is visible from I-71 south of the Dana Avenue exit ramp.
Volunteers planted peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and squash.
“Neyer Properties represents the wonderful generosity of corporations in our city,” said Patricia Wakim, executive director of the OTR and Walnut Hills Kitchens and Pantry. “It is kind and thoughtful gestures such as this that enables us this to continue our mission to care for those less fortunate in an environment of respect and hospitality. Our guests will be thrilled to reap the bounty of the garden harvest in their daily meals at each of our kitchens and in their grocery bags at our pantry. We are grateful to Neyer Properties for its dedication in caring for those less fortunate.”
The OTR and Walnut Hills Kitchens and Pantry serve about 4,000 meals per week. “We rarely receive fresh produce to prepare for our meals or to distribute to our guests in their groceries,” said Wakim. “We are absolutely thrilled to be the recipient of the produce from the Keystone Community Garden again this year.”
“We believe in developing sustainable buildings, and we also believe it’s the right thing to help sustain lives by doing something positive for those in need,” said Dan Neyer, president of Neyer Properties. “Having access to good food is a basic need, and this is a small way we can help others in need.”
Tri-State Services provided prep work and equipment to till the land; the American Red Cross and Lawn Systems, Inc provided the irrigation supply for the garden; and Mills Fence Company provided a six-foot fence to protect the garden from animals.
Neyer Management, Apple Spice Junction, Brookstone Construction, and Griffin Fletcher Herndon provided meals for the volunteers, purchased t-shirts and signage for the event, and will be providing volunteers for ongoing garden maintenance.
For more information on the OTR and Walnut Hills Kitchens and Pantry, visit www.overtherhinekitchen.org.