Roots in the City brings farming in Overtown

MIAMI (WSVN) -- One of Miami's inner cities is getting a fresh start, so to speak.

Abandoned areas in parts of Overtown are now being replaced with organic gardens in an experiment called Roots in the City.

Debra Hannah is back to work harvesting in one of South Florida's most blighted neighborhoods. "It pays the bills, good eating, and we put a lot into this here garden," she said.

About 10 urban farmers and 80 volunteers tend this organic garden, growing everything from pumpkins to papayas. The garden replaces what dominates much of the landscape in the city's Overtown neighborhood: abandoned and neglected acres in a part of town notorious for poverty, drugs and crime.

Marvin Dunn named this concept Roots in the City. "This community's trying to be reborn," he said, "but what we're trying to do is take unused land, vacant land, fallow land and make it productive, both in terms of producing food for people and jobs for the community."

The land is donated. Miami invested $100,000, and more gardens are coming.

In this socio-economic experiment, they are growing vegetables, but they are also growing so much more... the future. Pretty gardens leads to community pride, leads to business and residential development, jobs and a rundown neighborhood coming back to life.

And the word is spreading. Customers swing by for Saturday's farmer's market, and Roots in the City is working to get these veggies sold in grocery stores. "It reaches out to those who really can't afford to go out and buy good nutrition, and it's at a good price so why not?" said vegetable buyer Hattie Brown, "and it helps out our community."

Phil Bacon from the Collins Center For Public Policy said, "We plant seeds of progress in the minds of people. When we plant seeds in the ground, we give people an idea of what this area might become."

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