Healthier alternatives in the community were recently able to receive some additional support from a nationally-recognized organization.

Carter County Community Advisory Board (CAB) members were able to receive a $1,500 donation from Farm Bureau to go toward supporting the organization’s third annual community garden project that spans throughout the City of Elizabethton and Carter County.

Each year has been a joy, according to CAB member Jilian Reece. With the board preparing to work on each of the local gardens, Reece added that the organization is up to 19 gardens in the community. The newest additions receiving community gardens are the Kids Like Us Community Learning Center and Browns Chapel AME Zion Church.

“We are excited to have this third year of community gardens here in Carter County. We’re really seeing the impact these gardens have had on the families in our community,” Reece said. “Each year, this has grown into a bigger project and it’ll be great to have Kids Like Us and Browns Chapel involved.”

Over the past three years, various community gardens around the community have allowed residents to grow their own crops and have healthier alternatives to eating. Utilizing community gardens was just one of the ways the county was able to  achieve the recent “Healthier Tennessee Community” status from Governor Bill Haslam.

And seeing the growth of agricultural interest is part of Farm Bureau’s mission into the community, according to Farm Bureau agent Daniel Grindstaff.

“Farm Bureau is always proud to support agriculture on the local level and we also support it on the state level,” Grindstaff said. “This program really coincides in what Farm Bureau believes in. We believe in teaching people, especially children, more about agricultural resources and how they can impact the community.”

Community support has been the biggest factor for keeping the program running smoothly, Reece added.

“We are so grateful for Farm Bureau. There is no way we could do this without sponsors like Farm Bureau and Lowe’s of Elizabethton. There’s no way we could be able to do these gardens,” she said. “It is very important to see the businesses in our community recognize the impact these gardens have on residents, from learning to grow their own food to learning more about healthy eating habits.”

Additional information on community gardens can be found by visiting the Carter County Community Advisory Board Facebook page online.