'A sense of belonging to something greater than yourself': WOMB Community Garden planned

Tucked away behind The Freedom BLOC's office on West Exchange Street is an under-construction community garden that Director DeBorah Johnson hopes will instill a sense of belonging to a community that has struggled recently to understand its place within the Greater Akron area.

"This is the second location for this garden; the first one on the west side shut down last year due to repeat vandalism, but what we accomplished in that garden was momentous," Johnson said. "Jayland Walker's death last year and the COVID-19 pandemic brought anxiety and uncertainty within our community, and we are hoping this new garden will accomplish what the old garden did: a sense of belonging to something greater than yourself and the sense of satisfaction and purpose from creating something new.

"This area in particular is a bit of a food desert with no nearby grocery stores or access to healthy foods," she added, "so we wanted to bring some healthy food options to this area and show our community the importance of eating healthy and being committed to growing healthy foods for their family."

The WOMB (Way of Mind and Body) Community Garden is named after the recently defunct social and cultural organization that birthed such organizations as The Freedom BLOC and was headquartered on East Market Street.

"The Freedom BLOC is an extension of the WOMB, which is why I kept the name; those that know me know I started at WOMB, and I did not want to change the name because of my association with WOMB, which no longer exists," Johnson said.

The Rev. Ray Greene Jr., executive director of The Freedom BLOC, which stands for Black Led Organizing Collaborative, proudly provided space to Johnson to use for the community garden.

"The main thing we want to do is build positivity throughout the neighborhood; we want to help people grow their own food and strive toward self-sufficiency," Greene said. "This community garden was built for the purpose of education and the idea of growing something that someone can take pride in. There's nothing better than helping each other, and the community that this garden fosters is priceless."

Johnson said she originally started the garden in 2015 to simply educate people on how to grow their own food. She is very hands-on with the gardeners, providing books and information to help them from the beginning stages to experts.

"I help everyone learn what to plant, what different foods go together, and give them the tools necessary to start and grow their own foods," Johnson said. "All I ask is a small fee of $25 and a commitment to tending to the garden as often as possible."

Each gardener has to log in the hours they worked on their plot of land, which Johnson says is for accountability purposes, to know when people are feeding or watering their plants.

The operation at the old garden was small, with up to 12 gardeners able to use it at once. She anticipates the same small size for the community garden once it is operational later this summer.

"We're going to use planter boxes here because the soil here is not conducive to gardening, and we are in the process of constructing these boxes now, which will be 3 feet by 6 feet," Johnson said. "I anticipate building six to 10 of these planter boxes to begin with, and seeing how things go from there."

Johnson noted that what she grew in her garden she typically gave away, and that will continue once the new garden is operational. For this season, she plans to grow cucumbers, tomatoes, kale and other vegetables.

"I've been asked to sell what I grow at farmers markets, but I was never in this to make money. I love what I do and just want to share the knowledge of how I do what I do with others and just spread joy throughout the community − but I am honored that anyone thinks that the food I grow is worth buying," Johnson said. "I just want to make sure that people are eating right and making healthy choices."

For those community members interested in learning more about the garden, go to the garden's Facebook page, or email Johnson at bluegarden595@gmail.com.

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: WOMB Community Garden in Akron aims to bring neighborhood together