Students got their hands dirty on Monday as fresh produce from Texas Southmost College’s Community Garden was pulled from the ground into bins to be delivered to the TSC Student Pantry.
Students from anatomy & physiology, architecture and the ECO MOVE club were on hand to be a part of the special moment.
“It’s nice to see that all this hard work is going to go to the students, while we’re also learning at the same time,” ECO Move President Martha Villanueva said. “We’re about to get a gardening bed for our club and we’re going to decide what we want to grow and take care of it weekly.”
Dr. Murad Abusalim, who serves as Dean of STEM and CTE Programs said that this moment was a long time coming for the college who eyed the space for a community garden for years.
“This is a milestone. We have been planning and dreaming about this community garden being activated for a while now,” Dr. Abusalim said. “Last year there was a wonderful collaboration between different programs, classrooms, Brownsville Wellness Coalition, our facilities team. Everyone came together to make this space ready to be used. This is the first harvest and just like we planned it all the produce is going to be donated and go back to our students.”
Brownsville Wellness Coalition Program Manager for Urban Farms & Gardens, David Vasquez, was on site to lead the students and explain the importance of caring for plants from seed to harvest.
“I was just coming from a workshop with the BWC team and envisioning our goals and what we see for the future, and this is that coming to fruition,” Vasquez said. “It’s a dream come true. A lot of times in my work with Brownsville Wellness Coalition we serve the older generation. Seeing how the younger generation wants to get into this and being a part of influencing the younger generation to grow their own food is one of my “whys” in life. It’s why I do what I do.”
Villanueva said she was grateful to have such a knowledgeable instructor in Vasquez to guide the growing process.
“He was really wise and nice to teach us about these plants and caring for them, I’m very thankful that he was here to explain everything to us,” Villanueva said.
Students can register and request food including fresh produce, pastas, sauces and more items by following this link.