Fresh food and green space: How one group hopes to solve Shively's food desert issue

It's been more than six years since Shively has been without a neighborhood grocery store.

With the closure of Kroger at 3917 S. Seventh St. in 2016, citizens of Shively have to travel to the nearest Kroger two miles away or the closet Walmart, five miles away, to purchase groceries.

For residents without vehicles, traveling to a nearby grocery store proves difficult, often forcing them to purchase food from mini-marts and fast-food restaurants.

Now labeled a "food desert," a region where people have limited access to healthy and affordable food, Shively residents are looking for solutions and healthier food options for their families.

LeTicia Marshall, who has lived in Shively for 10 years and is owner and operator of Bearfruit and Grow LLC, is striving to solve the food desert problem by promoting fresh food access and green spaces to grow food.

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"I think more people need to know where their food comes from, especially children, and I wanted to do something and wanted to be more proactive … so I decided to start the business," Marshall said.

Since the closure of Kroger in 2016, Marshall has transformed her yard into an urban farm and revived the Shively Farmers & Artisans Market, 3920 Dixie highway, run by J. Andrew Goodman, manager of Shively Library Community Garden, to make fresh food more readily available in her community.

Marshall has received positive feedback from her neighbors and community about the fresh produce and numerous neighbors have also shared stories about how healthy eating transformed their lives as they look forward to fresh food being grown and made available closer to home.

Others, seeing Marshall's example, have expressed a desire to grow more of their own food, and many are eager to show up to the Shively Farmers & Artisans Market to connect with neighbors while deepening their connection with nature.

With a call to action from Gate of Hope Ministries, which helps refugee families shop for essentials, cook basic meals, assist their children with homework and clean and maintain their homes,and The Food Literacy Project, Marshall hopes tobuilds on her vision for the local food economy in Shively in the form of a community food park.

The goal, Marshall says, is to feed thousands of Shively residents while also providing recreational green space and cultivating an intergenerational community.

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"We want people to consider (the project) because these issues are not going to go away but they will get better if we come together and work together," Marshall said.

Longtime occupants of Iroquois Urban Farm, 1400 Bicknell Ave., Gate of Hope Ministries and The Food Literacy Project, which teaches young people about farm-based foods, the environment, leadership, employment and community and civic engagement, were displaced this year when the Louisville Metro Housing Authority decided to return the property to affordablehousing.

Seeking a new, permanent home, the organizations banded together in partnership with Marshall to imagine the possibilities of a long-vacant 27-acre property on Crums Lane in the heart of Shively, which they hope will be the location for the proposed Shively Community Food Park.

Formerly known as the Farnsley Golf Center, 2232 Schaffer Drive, Shively residents like Marshallare eager to see the property remain green space and be accessible to the community. The vision of the Shively Community Food Park workgroup is to have a place where urban farming and recreation share a space to serve the community.

On Monday, Shively Mayor Beverly Chester-Burton said she would like to see the Farnsley Golf Course back up and running as a golf course, but is open to discussion with the Shively Community Food Park workgroup.

"I spoke with Ms. Marshall and she has requested to meet ... I am going to either set up a Zoom meeting or a special meeting to see if they want to continue the conversation," Chester-Burton told the Courier Journal.

Plans to build a multifamily housing unit on the former Farnsley Golf Center have also been discussed.

"It's very, very clear what people want. (The Shively community) do not want a multi-family housing unit put there, they do not want more buildings. They love the green space. It's open and airy and makes people feel good, so why not just capitalize on that," Marshall said.

The workgroup has gone before Chester-Burton and the Shively City Council twice — once to share its vision for a proposed community food park and again to submit resident feedback.

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"We've had people complete surveys, residents showing up to city council meetings to give their feedback, and three community meetings and we have local leaders in Louisville Metro government telling me that Shively residents don't know what they want," Marshall said.

Regardless of what goes in the open space at the former Farnsley Golf Course, Chester-Burton and Marshall agree something needs to be done to fix the food access issue in Shively. Chester-Burton said she would love to see a new grocery store in the area.

"We have some of the businesses that have left, Moby Dick has left, Pizza Hut is gone and if one of those could become a new grocery, that would be a plus," Chester-Burton said. "Unfortunately, we have a food desert, that's happening right now. I hope that things will change for the better but we're just taking it one day at a time."

In the meantime, the workgroup plans to continue to present its plan for the Shively Food Park to public officials.

"They say this land, these acres, are an asset to the city. Well, the people are also an asset to this city, so pick one," Marshall said.

Residents are encouraged to weigh in on the Shively Community Food Park initiative by completing this survey: https://forms.gle/g94KYFgM5ha7SH388.

Reach Features Reporter Genesis Malone at gmalone@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: The Shively Community Food Park strives to increase fresh food access