Hood College Program Seeks to Help the Environment and Feed Needy

Hood College’s Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies (CCWS) program is collaborating with the Office of the Dean of the Chapel in order to implement a community gardening effort called “Growing for a Healthy Future,” according to a news release. This program will seek to reduce the amount of harmful stormwater runoff and also make it easier for low-income Frederick families to access healthy fruits and vegetables.

The Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies is a nonprofit based in Ellicott City, MD and partners with the Center for Watershed Protection. It intends to design gardens that are both bountiful and environmentally sustainable.

While Frederick County is largely affluent, there are several areas that have been identified as “food deserts”, where residents are more than half a mile’s walking distance to the nearest grocery store. Twenty percent of these people don’t have access to a car, and their income is much lower than the federal poverty line.

However, the new program may be extremely beneficial to those who live in “food desert” communities.

“When we discovered the extent of food deserts in our community… we realized that with our expertise, we are positioned to join in the effort to eliminate them,” said Claire Hudson, who manages the project. “Access to nutritious foods needs to be at the forefront of our efforts, and we are excited to be working with local partners to collectively address this issue.”

Drew Ferrier, director of the coastal studies program at Hood, remarked that stormwater runoff from rooftops, roads, and sidewalks across the county is an “increasing contributor” to water quality problems in local streams. By collecting this water properly, some of that runoff can be used for watering gardens instead.

The staff of the CCWS will partner with the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs in Frederick to establish a pilot garden this fall. In the next few months, they plan to gather community input to best tailor the program to the area’s needs.

To become involved in the program, contact Connie Ray at ray@hood.edu or 301-696-3289.

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