Broadway Community Garden

On a rainy Friday morning in October 2023, over 70 volunteers gathered to transform an overgrown, trashy lot on Broadway Street into a community garden. The ongoing project is a partnership between the Cathedral and the Arkansas Hunger Alliance with major support from Love, Tito’s, the philanthropic effort of Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Arkansas ranks near the top of states with food insecurity. Access to healthy food is a priority for State policymakers. One way to help eliminate food deserts and food insecurity is by developing community gardens throughout the area.In just six hours volunteers, under guidance from Brandon Chapman, Project Manager from the Hunger Alliance, built a fence around the garden, removed two dumpsters full of trash and organic debris, installed weed cloth, constructed 24 raised beds, spread gravel around the beds, and moved about a ton of soil to fill the beds. A storage shed was delivered and set in place.

It took careful planning and a zoning change to make the project a reality. Tommy Jameson helped draw up a site plan and prepare documents to get approval from Capital Zoning. Central Arkansas Water had no account on file for that property, so a new meter had to be installed.

Phase 2 of the project began in the Spring of 2024 when the beds where beds were planted with seedlings and seeded with herbs, a green house was assembled, and a "Little Free Pantry" and a vertical growing wall were installed. That first growing season was one of discovery where we learned what grows best and how to manage the care and harvest of the garden with volunteers.

The Love, Tito’s Block to Block program, which funded the initial project has a goal to make fresh food accessible and inspire healthy eating. They team with nonprofits nationwide to help make this goal possible. Their model is to provide financial support and to gather community members to complete the projects.

In its second year, the Broadway Community Garden is thriving and will provide fresh produce to members of our community and to local non profits like Our House and Dorcas House.