There is lots of food available in San Diego. One thing there is not a lot of is free food. That is something that volunteers at "Eat San Diego" would like to change. They opened the free food Park in city Heights. After the produce grows in his public patch of land, it will be available for anyone to pick and eat. Joining me is Kelly Cole who is the cofounder of "Eat San Diego". Kelly, welcome to the program.Explain this concept for people. A group of volunteers identify as a patch of public land and they start to plan things ?That is the concept. We think there is a better way to use public spaces that are just sitting there.Do you get support if there are businesses around? Do you need a buy-in from the local people in the area ?It is both. We have been working with local businesses and we are putting gardens in front of their stores. We are recruiting volunteers from the neighborhoods to help us outWho does the watering and the weeding ?That is the volunteers. We are all pitching in time and effort to take care of everything.Anyone passing by can take the food that grows ?Yes. That is the goal. We want everyone to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.Where is that park located ?This is off of Al Cohen Boulevard. It is the pop up 15 immunity space that the Boulevard business Association has been working on.Did you scoop that out and say that would be a great place for a through the -- free food Park ?Yes. I was driving by and I noticed this would be an amazing space to work with. There is open ground. I knew someone was working with it to try to make it somewhere people wanted to be. I thought that would be an asset.What fruits and vegetables have you planted ?So far, we have strawberries, kale, spinach and all sorts of interesting things going on.How do you choose what will go in the ground ?First, we are looking for things that can survive the climate. It is hotter and things that do not need as much water, that is our main category for selection.The volunteers that do this, they must be excited about this concept. What gets them excited about it ?It is unique to hear. It is nothing that San Diego has. I feel like people are looking for ways they can contribute to the community. This is such a simple thing. I feel like it taps into something inside of you. We do not have a connection to food the way that we buy it right now. It is something that is lacking in our lives, a connection to the ground and the community. That is a huge draw for people. It is a simple way to help out.There are free food parks popping up in cities across the nation. Isn't that right ?Yes. That is what got me into it. I saw Ted talk in Los Angeles. Who is doing that around here? That is how I met Devon. He was planting free food by bus stops and he was trying to engage the community. That is how I found him.You are talking about Devon Landry?Yes.Do people have to be educated to the idea that this is free? When the food starts blooming and blossoming, you know, they can pick a strawberry or pick a tomato and walk off with it ?Yes. I think it is a foreign concept. It is funny because Devon would say, he has a garden in Ocean Beach. People circlet and look at the fruit. They act shifty. They have to be told, it is free for everyone. You can pick what you want and enjoy it. It is foreign.I would imagine there are people that think this is only for low income people to take advantage of. I suppose you would say not only but it is for low income people if they need it, right?Absolutely. It is for everyone. Anyone needs it, they are welcome to it. Part of the goal is that food should be free. It should not be difficult to come up on. Fresh food should belong to everyone.That is why you think it is so in part and to be in city Heights. You call city Heights a few desert.You can find produce but it is not fresh. It does not taste like a fresh fruit should. I know groups are working to open up farmers markets and stuff along the streets. This is another way we can contribute to the community.What are the key challenges? Do you have volunteers? Do you have a steady source of water ?Water is the biggest issue right now. There is no water on site. We will work with local businesses around the area to help us with filling the water tanks that we are buying. That is the biggest thing. How do we get water to a place with no water? We have had an amazing outpour of people who are interested in volunteering. That is cool. We are working on organizing people to help us with communicating with the public and getting water to the site and then taking care of the gardens.Getting this free food Park to produce something ?That is the goal.I am speaking with Kelly. Thank you.Thank you.
The volunteer group Eat San Diego launched the city's largest free food park in City Heights on Saturday. Volunteers planted a peach tree, strawberries, kale and other fruits and vegetables. Once the food is ready this fall and winter, it will be available for anyone to pick and eat.
Eat San Diego has set up similar curbside gardens before, including two in Ocean Beach and one in Point Loma, near bus stops and outside businesses. The City Heights park is on El Cajon Boulevard and Central Avenue.
"We just think there’s a better way to use our public spaces that are just sitting there ripe for the picking," Eat San Diego co-founder and City Heights resident Kelly Colt said.
The land is leased by the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement District, which let the volunteer group use the space for the next few years. Colt said the total cost for the garden was about $2,000 for planters, trees, plants and soil.
The biggest challenge for now is bringing water to the site. Colt says she fills up containers and drives them to the park on her way to work. She hopes additional volunteers will be able to help soon, or that a nearby business lets Eat San Diego use its water.
Colt joins KPBS Midday Edition on Wednesday with more on expanding food options for San Diegans.
