ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A recent initiative by Community Action Lehigh Valley, or CALV, addresses the issues of homelessness and food insecurity together.
- Community Action Lehigh Valley partnered with Home Depot volunteers to donate raised garden beds to Sixth Street Shelter
- The Seed Farm, a CALV program under Second Harvest Food Bank, focuses on training and supporting beginning farmers
- Vegetables and flowers are the major plants in the garden
CALV's Seed Farm, a program of Second Harvest Food Bank, partnered with Home Depot volunteers to donate raised garden beds to Sixth Street Shelter in Allentown.
The flower beds, according to CALV, aim to enhance the shelter's surroundings and provide residents with access to fresh produce and education on nutrition and food sustainability.
The collaboration is dedicated to increasing food accessibility for families experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, CALV says in a news release.
The Seed Farm is a training program that offers affordable access to land, infrastructure, equipment, technical assistance and more to support beginning farmers with their businesses.The Seed Farm website
“Garden beds are built and installed [at Sixth Street Shelter] currently,” said Katy Hunter, program administrator for Seed Farm at CALV. The flower beds are now behind the Sixth Street Shelter adjacent to the parking lot.
According to Hunter, vegetables and flowers are the major plants in the garden.
The Seed Farm is a training program that offers affordable access to land, infrastructure, equipment, technical assistance and more to support beginning farmers with their businesses, according to the website.
“The Seed Farm is a program of Second Harvest Foodbank under Community Action Lehigh Valley, and we are a farm business incubator site. We also help support the creation of community gardens [and] some food pantries,” Hunter said.
