Coordinating with a local church, parks and recreation, and a youth learning center the horticulture program used a GO LOCAL movement to impact an underserved neighborhood and volunteers, in the spring of 2018.  Volunteers worked with the agent, and other leaders of the community to create raised beds for the youth, and helped in planting those beds with vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Those volunteers consisted of a young married couple with no gardening experience, community members and master gardener volunteers.

Throughout the summer, youth in the community had access to fresh vegetables and fruits to share with their family. Two of the master gardener volunteers agreed to oversee the project by watering, weeding, and providing gardening “lessons” to those in the community, both young and old alike, all through the summer.  Of the other volunteers involved, the young couple stated from the beginning they had never gardened in their life, but were willing to learn and help. The young married couple indicated that even though they had no experience, they enjoyed the process of gardening and felt confident with the skills they had learned that day to start their own garden.  In the spring of 2019, the wife of the couple stated that very afternoon after the 2018 GO LOCAL project, she and her husband went to a local hardware store and bought materials and soil to create a raised bed in their own back yard.  In the raised bed they planted some of the surplus vegetable plants used in the project and successfully harvested their vegetable garden that summer and fall.  She also stated that since their gardening experience was so enjoyable and successful, this year they plan to expand their raised bed and grow more. Expecting their first child this summer, she said growing fresh, home-gown vegetables was more important than ever to supplement their diets.