Raised Beds For Seniors, the Disabled and Girl Scouts at Fairfield's Community Garden

Ten and Eleven year-old girls from fifth grade North Stratfield Elementary School Girl Scout troop have been awarded a raised garden bed project grant from the Fairfield town’s Adults and Children Together (ACT) program. The project will take place at Fairfield’s Community Garden located on town-owned land at Warde Terrace and involves a collaboration of several groups such as the seniors from the Warde Terrace senior residential complex located across the street from the town garden, the Kennedy Center, an internationally accredited, non-profit community-based rehabilitation organization that provides comprehensive services to persons with disabilities and special needs, and Girl Scout troop 33103, their siblings and parents. The garden installation will take place May 4, Friday at 4:00.  

The project’s purpose is to create several raised garden beds so that youth, teens and adults in wheel chairs or are otherwise disabled can comfortably reach and work/exercise in the garden —plant, seed, weed and water while interacting with the girl scouts and their families, and other community garden members.  Because the beds are raised several feet off the ground, youth and adults in wheelchairs can reach the garden and seniors don’t have to bend all the way to the ground—as is the case with a conventional garden bed. Currently, most seniors and wheelchair bound citizens cannot exercise/use the garden. Project goals include:

a)      Providing the opportunity for girls, seniors and handicapped citizens to exercise/plant and nurture the garden throughout the spring, summer and fall for many years into the future. 

b)      Teaching youth, seniors, and families about diet, nutrition, and healthy cooking via a series of workshops.   

c)       Encouraging and creating more community and social support systems among diverse Fairfield populations—youth, seniors and the handicapped.

d)      Reducing the risk of depression and substance use and abuse among project participants by decreasing the risk of overweight.

Headed by the longtime volunteer community garden coordinator, Eric Frisk, and Anne Tack, grant writer consultant and advocate for Fairfield’s community and school gardens, The flowers and vegetables grown in the raised beds will be donated to area food banks such as Operation Hope and used in the project’s healthy food educationand preparation program. This series of 3 seminars on nutrition, diet, and healthy menu creation will be taught by: 1) Margaret Feeney, MBA, of Feeney Farm.  Feeney Farm (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feeney-Farm/127676053911476/) gleans what is left over from area farm fields after harvesting by farmers and then donates the fresh produce to the homeless in Bridgeport. Part of Margaret’s mandate for receipt of Feeney Farm food is that individuals must attend her nutrition workshops in which she teaches the benefit of eating fresh fruits and vegetables; 2) Linda Soper-Colton, an area whole foods chef  who worked with Fairfield school district’s Chef's Move to School  program initiated by Michelle Obama to help reduce childhood obesity. Linda is a whole foods cooking instructor and the owner of the Green Gourmet to Go restaurant (http://greengourmettogo.com/ourservices/weeklymealprogramcsk.html); and, 3)  Amie Hall, a holistic health coach, who has a plethora of experience teaching healthy cooking skills to youth and families in Fairfield. She previously headed a healthy food preparation after school project for middle school youth in the Fairfield Public School and is currently a host on Fitness Radio (http://ftns.co/team/amie-hall/).

The fifth grade Girl Scout troop has had an ongoing relationship with the seniors at Warde Terrace for a number of years. Most recently, in December of 2011, they engaged in a holiday program in which both generations sang carols and enjoyed healthy holiday snacks. At two prospective meetings, the seniors taught the girls how to knit cancer caps. In 2010, there was a garden program in which the scouts and their families picked a variety of delicious greens and other vegetables, and together with the seniors made and enjoyed delicious salads. They added sunflower seeds, raisins, low fat cheese and dressing. Linda Murphy, a local whole foods enthusiast, mother and former elementary education teacher enlightened everyone about deciphering nutrition labels on packaged food; how to make choices that are nutritious. The best part of this program, perhaps, was the fellowship between the seniors and girls and the relationships that budded and are thriving today. The scouts were thrilled to learn that one of the seniors, Mary, had herself been a Girl Scout many years ago and proudly brought the pin that she and her daughter wore to share with the girls. Another senior, Marjorie, was not only a Girl Scout, but was the head/Commissioner of girl scouting, called Girl Guides, in India for a number of years. 

Administered by the Public Works Department of the Town of Fairfield, The Community Garden at Drew Park provides citizens a plot free of charge. Those interested should call Ken Placko, the town Tree Warden, at City Hall.  Since it was informally founded some 16 years ago in 1995 by seniors from Parish Court (the senior complex nearby the garden), Fairfielder Eric Frisk has been the informal volunteer caretaker.  Current residents of the garden who tend garden plots include:  Operation Hope, the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm, Our Saviors Lutheran Church, First Congregational church and several families made up of youth, adults and seniors. More than half of all the produce raised is donated to Operation Hope and other food banks such as the Bridgeport Rescue Mission. All gardening is conducted using organic practices. The garden’s mission is to provide fresh, nutritious food for those accessing food banks, compared to the mostly high in sodium, processed can goods that needy, food insecure individuals are usually offered.  

The purpose of the Fairfield Adults and Children Together grant program is to encourage the development of fun and interesting programs that will motivate children, adolescents and families to increase their level of physical activity and to improve their nutritional habits. Children and adolescents who are overweight and physically inactive are at risk for multiple problems, including increased stress, lower self-esteem, social isolation, and substance abuse.  Physical activity and eating a healthy diet form the foundation of healthy coping skills, the balance of energy in and energy out, and the release
of physical, emotional and psychological stress.

For further information, contact Erick Frisk at efrisk@optonline.net or Anne Tack at atack@tackwriters.com.