Fighting Food Insecurity, One Seed at a Time – Building a Community Garden in South Toms River

Community Medical Center, RWJBarnabas Health and the Sadie Vickers Resource Center have partnered to fight food insecurity in South Toms River through the establishment of a new community garden. Leaders from the three organizations, local and state representatives, and community members celebrated the garden’s official opening on September 12 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Sadie Vickers CommUnity Garden, located at 62 First Avenue, South Toms River will offer residents access to healthy foods as well as nutrition and wellness education in an area lacking supermarkets or easily available produce and other nutritious foods.

Earlier this year Community Medical Center and RWJBarnabas Health team members volunteered their time to build and plant earthboxes at the garden, which are expected to yield thousands of pounds of produce. The garden aims to address food insecurity and social determinants of health, as well as to improve health outcomes. It is part of larger efforts by RWJBarnabas to tackle these issues in the state’s most vulnerable communities.

To learn more about the garden, visit https://www.rwjbh.org/blog/2024/may/g...
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