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<\/p>\nDesiree\u2019 Sims knows firsthand the impact of growing your own food. She experienced food insecurity as a child and mainly ate processed meals during her upbringing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This led her to create Peas and Love Edible Gardening Co., an organization that helps people in the Tampa Bay area plant vegetables, fruits, herbs and edible flowers. The business also offers community classes, gardening consultations and coaching services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sims applied for the City of St. Petersburg\u2019s MLK Communities in Action Mini-Grant Program and proposed to create gardens for three St. Pete-based individuals or families. She received approval by the end of December.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Work for the project is underway, Sims said. Currently, she is in the process of selecting recipients. Two have already been chosen, including a family of seven people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sims additionally is starting to prepare material lists for the gardens and determining where to purchase the supplies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each garden is vertical, takes up only two feet of space and houses 24 plants. Recipients can select what they want to grow based on a seasonal list, she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Options include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries and kale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A vertical garden created by Peas and Love.<\/p>\n
Creating gardens is a passion for Sims. She began to grow her own vegetables in college.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy earliest memory was looking out of the screen glass door of our apartment and seeing a vegetable garden there,\u201d Sims explained. \u201cSo, when I started college and started learning about health and different changes I could make for my community, that was a solution that resonated with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She would eventually volunteer and create community gardens in different neighborhoods, for nearly 13 years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, her regular job became obsolete.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sims realized that this was an opportunity to follow her dreams and \u201cdo something that people really need and want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are many benefits to growing your own food, she explained. Health is a key factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat can look different for different people,\u201d Sims said. \u201cIt gets you outside, gets you moving and you\u2019re in the fresh air and sunshine \u2013 and that\u2019s before you actually eat any of the healthy food that you\u2019re growing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gardens can also have social benefits. She believes that they \u201cbring people together\u201d and help create bonding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Sims, it\u2019s all about becoming more self-sustaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to actually teach people how to garden and grow their own food instead of them relying on me as their personal gardener or relying on another system,\u201d she explained. \u201cI want this knowledge to be well known again. It\u2019s only been a couple of generations since people were growing most of their own food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n