On November 2, 2021, the Miami Marlins Foundation and Love Tito's, held the grand opening for their wonderful new joint venture, a community garden.
Aiming to help local communities foster food, the Home Plate Meals community garden has been planted and set up at the LoanDepot Park, home to the Miami Marlins. The team came together with Love, Tito's, a local company that has been serving the community for a while with not just their incredible range of spirits, inclusive ethos, and free meals to service members, but also through urban farms.
Having worked with non-profits in L.A., Miami, and Houston, the company has most recently launched another community garden with the city's beloved baseball team.
Who does the community garden hope to serve?
The event was exciting, and people from different groups, including the media, journalists, athletes, and business owners, came together to celebrate this launch which is meant to support local communities.
The Marlins Garden aims to empower local communities and increase food security. They planted a wide variety of easy-to-grow plants, including tomatoes, herbs, papaya, and other foods that do well in Miami's climatic conditions.
It's a step in the right direction. They encourage local community members to take ownership of the garden and participate in growing, tending, and harvesting different fruits, vegetables, herbs, and more.
How does a community garden help?
Not only does the community garden act as a yearlong source of food, but it's also a great way to encourage families to make better food choices. With hands-on experience and an educational aspect to it, it aims to help people understand their food choices' impact.
The goal is to address food insecurity through easier access, a sense of community and joint ownership over the garden, and greater knowledge about growing and caring for different plants. The larger goal is for people to learn how to grow these plants right at home, starting their own vegetable gardens and growing their own food over time.
Other steps to help local communities
Through this venture, the Miami Marlins Foundation, and Love, Tito's are hoping to encourage more urban farming, partnering with other local organizations and bodies to push this initiative forward. They even gifted a group of veterans plants as an extension of this project, and it's been promising.
While distributing food and meals may be a short-term solution, community gardens and urban farming are more sustainable, viable, and long-term, addressing several gaps that are currently staring back at us. As these plants begin to take root, we hope to see more initiatives like this in the coming year.
For more exciting news and updates from Miami, its citizens, events, and recommendations, subscribe to CalleOcho News as we bring you all this and more. We're very excited to see how this community garden continues to grow and serve local communities across Miami!
Add Comment