Westbay Farm helps feed the vulnerable, plans Saturday plant sale

By Kelcy Dolan
Posted 5/26/16

Last year, the Westbay farm grew more than 18,000 pounds of fresh produce, all of which was free or sold at a reduced price to help Kent County's vulnerable populations have access to healthy fruits and vegetables. The City of Warwick

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Westbay Farm helps feed the vulnerable, plans Saturday plant sale

Posted

Last year, the Westbay farm grew more than 18,000 pounds of fresh produce, all of which was free or sold at a reduced price to help Kent County’s vulnerable populations have access to healthy fruits and vegetables.

The City of Warwick began leasing the three-acre farm, a part of Barton Farm, on Centreville Road to Westbay Community Action in 2005, when they began building their Marketplace food pantry. They began by using a small portion of the land for cultivation, but over the last decade they have slowly expanded, currently using about an acre and a half to grow produce. The initiative began and runs with a Community Development Service Grant upon request with additional support from Episcopal Charities.

Paul Salera, president and CEO of Westbay, said the goal of the organization is to help feed people in need, suffering from a financial crisis, but “more than just food we want to provide fresh nutritional meals for a balanced diet to keep our clients healthy.”

In encouraging healthy diets, Westbay hopes to, in part, help reduce obesity, diabetes and medical complications of their clients.

“We knew this was going to be a really positive partnership,” Mayor Scott Avedisian said. “It is an exciting program. We have been able to utilize this beautiful space in a proactive, beneficial way to help those in our community struggling financially.”

Oftentimes in food pantries participants receive a box of food with peanut butter and pasta, missing out on the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables, according to Avedisian. He said people need more than that to stay healthy, and through the Westbay Farm Kent County visitors to the food pantry have access to high quality produce.

Steve Stycos, who has managed the farm for the past seven years, said that more than 70 percent of everything grown on Westbay Farm benefits the Marketplace. The remaining produce is sold at either the weekly market in Kent Hospital’s cafeteria or the Westbay sponsored reduced price farmer’s markets held a few times a year at senior housing facilities: Sparrows Point, the Shalom Apartments and Hardig Brook Village.

“Produce has essential nutritional value. The people at the food pantry can’t often afford it, they are busy paying rent, their car payment of for heat,” Stycos said. “For seniors a lot of our customers may not have the mobility or the transportation to get to the grocery store.”

Salera said seniors have limited access to fresh produce, so why not “bring the farmer’s market to them.”

“Making sure our vulnerable seniors have access to fresh produce for nutritional, balanced meals helps to keep them healthy, safe and independent,” Salera said.

The farm also hosts public plant sales, one of them scheduled for this Saturday, May 28, to help fund the operation. Stycos, the only employee of the farm, said alongside these sales the farm relies heavily on volunteers, both from the community and businesses to keep the farm running.

The Westbay Farm aims to encourage people to eat fresh, healthy and local foods. Most of what they sell is picked in the morning, with the “highest nutritional value” and sold by noon.

Stycos grows butternut squash, eggplant, cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, blueberries, peppers, spinach and more. All produce is grown using organic methods, with no herbicides or pesticides, an organic fertilizer and donated compost from the city. There is even a beekeeper on the farm, which helps provide better pollination.

Stycos explained that growing organic is better for consumers, workers and the environment.

“Even in small amounts I don’t want to be eating pesticides. The science isn’t solid on what it’s doing to us. Frankly, I don’t want to spray it either for me and volunteers to be breathing in,” Stycos said. “It’s good for the land, too. We have little waste and can be more sustainable, keep the land healthier.”

Each year the farm expands a little more, and the hope of both Salera and Stycos is for that trend to continue, but with necessary fencing and water irrigation it can be a slow process and requires a need for more volunteers.

The Westbay Farm, located at 1351 Centreville Rd., Warwick, will be hosting a plant sale with flowers, herbs and vegetables this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All of the goods will be at a reduced cost. There will be farm tours and children’s activities to make the event fun for the whole family. All of the proceeds will be put back into managing the Westbay Farm.

For more information on Westbay Farm, opportunities to volunteer, and Saturday’s plant sale visit www.westbaycap.org.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here