Grow Macon, Inc. is looking for about 20 volunteers to help with a planting session on Saturday, December 9, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The group will plant crops in nearly 20 raised garden beds that have been installed at individual apartments in the complex across from 1108 Eastview Avenue.  

 “We really want to help get more people, especially those in low-income communities, to grow fresh food on their own,” says Charmiska Myers, a lifelong resident of East Macon and founder of Grow Macon. “We’ll be showing them what to do, providing them with easy-to-use pamphlets, and giving them a number to call if they need further assistance.”  

The apartments are where most of the children Grow Macon serve live, and the gardens are part of Grow Macon’s Shared Roots Initiative. It is an urban community garden project dedicated to reducing food insecurity and providing more supervised youth activities while fostering character development and relationship building within their community. For the second year, they received a grant of $20,000 from the Macon Violence Prevention program through the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. 

“These new beds and the nearby community garden will serve as a transformative force for the area by bringing people together and helping build relationships as they work towards a common goal,” adds Myers. “I see this as more than just a source of fresh produce; it will be a catalyst for building a sense of community pride, purpose, and ownership.”   

The first round of plants in the raised beds will be cold weather crops, including collards, broccoli, cabbage, lemon grass, snapdragons, Swiss chard, mustard greens, pansies, cilantro, and parsley. All the plants were bought by Grow Macon from the horticultural and agricultural departments at Northeast High School and Appling Middle School.  

  “I strongly believe a strong and united community is the key to reducing violent crime and creating a brighter future for East Macon,” says Myers.  

For more information about the community garden and how you can get involved with Grow Macon, please contact Charmiska Myers at growmaconnpo@gmail.com or call 478-216-8447. 

About Grow Macon, Inc. 

Grow Macon, Inc. is dedicated to bridging the economical, gender, and age gap in the community, using the valuable tool of a community garden to facilitate conversation. The organization’s mission is to end food insecurity in East Macon, decrease crime in the community, educate the next generation of gardeners/farmers, and re-establish the lost sense of community among the residents of the Eastside. 

Grow Macon is in its second year as a Macon Violence Prevention partner, having received grants both years through the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. Last year’s program was called ‘Plants, People, and Places,’ and installing the original community garden across the street from the complex was part of that.  

This year’s program is the Shared Roots Initiative, an urban community garden project dedicated to reducing food insecurity and providing more supervised youth activities while fostering character development and relationship building within their community.  

About the Macon Violence Prevention Program   

Macon Violence Prevention is an evidence-based, multifaceted program created to address public safety in Macon-Bibb County. Supported and funded by the consolidated government, MVP is a community-wide effort that brings together elected officials, community leaders and representatives from more than 20 agencies, organizations, and departments.   

 The MVP program operates under the guidance of the MVP Strategic Plan, which was created in June of 2021 by community stakeholders and violent crime experts. The plan combines data and research with community feedback to identify and implement proven solutions that reduce violent crime and strengthen the community over time.  

 In its first two years, Macon-Bibb and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia have awarded more than $1.6 million to 56 local nonprofit organizations that have identified proven or innovative solutions to reducing violent crime.  

“The solution to violent crime in our community will be found in all of us working together on the same team,” explained Mayor Lester Miller. “The fact that so many people have stepped forward shows that our community is committed to this historic effort. If we continue to work together, we will create a safer, stronger community now and for future generations.”