Baylor 'community garden' to ease local hunger - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

Healthy food -- a vital part of life that nearly a third of Waco residents don't have access to.

With the high poverty rate in town, healthy eating is a forgotten priority.

That's why Baylor and several partners are teaming up to start a community garden.

"At first were going to start with the basics like lettuce, onions, tomatoes...but the fruit trees we'll have will be oranges, apples," said Campus Kitchen's Produce Coordinator Hannah Laird.

President Ken Starr donned a golden hard hat for the project's unveiling on a day significant for more reason than one.

MLK day gave students a day off of class, but hundreds still showed up on campus, to give back.

"Planting something that's going to sustain somebody for the future is so wonderful that you can't even contemplate it," said Senior Julie Khan.

A muddy plot of land right now, the university pledged a $100,000 to transform it into a veggie heaven.

The garden will help Baylor feed even more than the 600 needy locals the campus kitchen already does.

"It's not a garden for aesthetics. It's a teaching garden, a garden that will serve the community, it's a garden that serves a purpose," said Sustainability Coordinator Smith Getterman.

And the local community's need is higher than ever.

Waco has the 5th highest poverty rate in Texas and many of the volunteer organizations around town are strapped for food and resources.

"With the environment we have in Waco...with the garden now we'll be able to cook fresh vegetables and give them out," Laird said.

Construction has already begun on the garden site at 9th and Bagby. The stone exterior of the first seed bed is taking form, and a new fence surrounds the lot. The garden should be finished by March, so in April students can plant the first seeds.

Reporter: Rebecca Schleicher/Photographer: Carlos Ramirez