Urban farm behind North Las Vegas church providing fresh produce for community

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Eating healthy and buying fresh produce may not be affordable for everyone.

For residents living near Lake Mead and Revere Street in North Las Vegas, it can be impossible to do so without a grocery store near by.

However, the Urban Farm at the Zion Methodist Church is bridging the gap when it comes to food insecurity.

“We started with four beds,” lead gardener Harry Dodd said.

Dodd lived in the Las Vegas area for 50 years, and is no stranger to the food desert that is impacting this part of North Las Vegas.

This prompted him to start planting fruit and vegetables many years ago behind the church.

Residents in the area like Anthelene Trotter tell FOX5 she had to go across town to get groceries.

Even though Trotter and some residents would be able to get to store, they say they were digging deep into their pockets.

Now, they are able to dig right in their neighborhood.

“We come out and pick groceries time to time, okra, sweet potatoes, onions lots of veggies, ” Trotter said.

The city of North Las Vegas gave $1.5 million to help enhance the farm which helped them recently build a green house dome.

The farm also expands inside with their newly renovated STEM Labs funded by Energy Tree.

This new center is called Urban Center for Advanced Agricultural Technologies.

“One of the priorities is to increase food security where people need it the most,” COO Amber Bosket said.

With UCAAT, residents can now learn how to make use of their green thumb right at home.

The lettuce that they are growing inside are in a sponge that gets watered through a reservoir.

The church will also open up their kitchen to start teaching healthy cooking classes.

Right now, residents can come in and pick their produce at no cost, but eventually they will pay by the pound.

To learn more about the Zion Urban Farm, you can click here.

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