10 Mar 2024 Feeding the multitude
By Judy Riley
Growing a community of faith describes the folks at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and their efforts to create the Broadway Community Garden in Little Rock. Their church is a familiar icon in the Mansion District of the Quapaw Quarter of Little Rock.
The church was built in 1884 and still stands with original stained-glass windows and an impressive steeple. When Amy Dafler Meaux, the current Dean and Rector of Trinity, arrived on the scene in the middle of the pandemic, there was much work to do. Sometimes, a set of fresh eyes and an enthusiasm for helping others is just what a group needs. It was the convergence of caring people and opportunities for funding that came together in the best way. Kathy Webb, outgoing CEO of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, had her eyes on some of the church property as a community garden for years. And so, the idea took flight.
Meaux’s background working in the hills of eastern Kentucky inspired her passion for child hunger causes. She quickly saw the church and its property as a vehicle to help those in need. The church owns most of a city block, from 16th to 17th streets, bordered by Center and Spring. She sees her role as being curious about the possibilities for the church and its property. Following goals set by a rigorous master planning process, she set out to make things happen.
The idea of a garden was not foreign to Trinity. The Early Childhood Education Program (ECEP) was already housed on the property. ECEP Director Christy Poindexter maintains an outdoor classroom complete with a small raised-bed garden, a hoop house and a chicken coop. She is an advocate for opportunities for young children to learn about growing plants and caring for animals.
“Our responsibility is to be stewards of the earth and here was property sitting empty,” Meaux said when asked why. “I believe we are called to return to God what has been entrusted to us. My role is to explore how we can not only be good stewards but be good neighbors. We become a living example of God’s grace by providing food for our neighbors and a place of respite. With our care and attention to others, we are using the story of the Good Samaritan found in the Gospel of Luke as our guide.”
Great ideas require investment. That is where the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance stepped in. “The alliance and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, with sponsorship from Love, Titos, the philanthropic arm of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, are creating a garden in an empty lot on Broadway,” Alliance Communications Manager Jessica Crenshaw said. “Love, Tito’s is reconnecting neighborhoods in need by growing community gardens and farms through their national Block to Block program and initiative.”
The Hunger Alliance had previously partnered with Love, Tito’s on a project to increase capacity for another Little Rock Community Garden at Oak Forest. That project was so successful that the company was interested in working with the Broadway Garden in a two-phase process. Phase One, which includes building up the site, constructing raised beds and planters, getting the irrigation system installed and erecting a storage shed, is all complete. Phase Two will begin with the actual planting of fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and installing picnic tables with a volunteer workday on April 19.
“By early summer, we should start seeing the results of our work,” Webb said. “We envision more than a garden for planting and harvesting, but also a space for the cross-pollination of ideas. We see the project benefitting the immediate community as well as becoming a resource and teaching garden for downtown and neighboring areas.”
Together, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance are breaking fertile ground, planting seeds of working together for the good of their community. Learn more about this project through trinitylittlerock.org or arhungeralliance.org.
