by Lauren N. Colie, Bri Jackson and Michael Pasco
Farmlet manager and volunteer Allen Stambaugh turn soil for a new garden plot. Image by Lauren N. Colie.
Matthew Daniel walks down the mulched path from the William Byrd Community House to the quarter-acre farmlet behind the playgrounds. He gestures excitedly at the daffodils emerging in flowerbeds along the way, explaining he wanted to beautify the Byrd House as well as manage the farmlet. He passes the foundation of a gazebo which will be erected by the farmer’s market.
“We try to teach skills like self-sufficiency and raising your own food,” Daniel said.
Located at 224 S. Cherry St., the Byrd House provides social services to the surrounding communities. One major focus is to offer a Nutrition Education Program, in which the Byrd House endeavors to provide not only emergency food assistance for families in need, but also to teach community members about healthy food choices and self-sufficiency.
Daniel is the first full-time staff member hired by the Byrd House to manage the farmlet. The Byrd House relies on government grants donations from individuals and organizations to run programs and pay staff, recently allocating a budget to keep Daniel on staff.
In the span of his first year, Daniel managed to significantly alter the appearance of the farmlet and gardens. He cleaned up areas choked by weeds and repaired benches. Daniel said he added pea plants in the children’s playground so they can watch the plants grow and learn to harvest their own vegetables.
The farmlet provides fresh produce for both the weekly farmer’s market and for emergency food distribution. Image by Lauren N. Colie.
“This is an opportunity to make a difference – to me, it’s a way to kind of simplify your life around things that really matter,” Daniel said. “Taking care of your body, taking care of the earth, taking care of your family, and doing that with healthy food – it’s a very powerful way to connect with other people.”
Daniel works with student volunteers and uses donated equipment to run the farmlet. The vegetables produced by the farmlet are distributed to community.
University of Richmond sophomore Allen Stambaugh volunteers with Daniel in the farmlet. He said the experience of service is rewarding, and he values what he gains from the people he meets while volunteering. He said he enjoys learning from Daniel.
“He’ll explain to me different species and plants,” Stambaugh said. “It’s more about the conversations and the skills.”
Manager of the Byrd House Market and Library Programs Ana Edwards said it is an asset to be able to offer free classes about food choices and use with organic vegetables grown on-site.
“I want the neighborhood to know this is a resource for information about good, healthy, tasty food,” Edwards said.
The Byrd House is located in a “food desert,” an area without a grocery store within at least one mile and a high poverty rate. It serves local neighborhoods, such as Oregon Hill. The poverty rate in Oregon Hill is 16 percent, compared to a rate of 9.6 percent for the state of Virginia.
Edwards said the Byrd House will provide emergency food to families in need, which consists of a package containing a 24-hour supply of food for a family of four. During the warm seasons of spring and summer, this package will contain fresh produce from the farmlet.
The Byrd House offers other social programs, but Edwards said they prefer to highlight involvement with food and nutrition. “Nutrition is directly related to people’s ability to perform on the job or at school,” Edwards said.
Edwards said the Byrd House hopes to offer more enrichment classes in the future and engage more local college students as volunteers.
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