Despite our obsession with quality barbecue, tacos and whatever looks good on Instagram, there are some Dallas initiatives making an effort to bring accessible, healthy, quality food to communities lacking these options, especially in the southern sector.
The Oak Cliff Veggie Project is nonprofit organization looking to provide underserved Dallas neighborhoods with access to fresh produce, all while focusing on three points of service: education, cultivation and preparation. Not only has the project started a community garden (more on that later), but, as one of the founders, Ples Montgomery, says, the Oak Cliff Veggie Store - located in the parking lot of 5915 Singing Hills Drive - provides those in need with produce every third Saturday, sans price tag.
"Once a month we give out free food," he says. "At every one of those events we meet more people that want to grow their food, and that know the plant-based lifestyle will help some of the conditions they have, and their families. That's what our whole program is about, community empowerment."
Montgomery gathers the food from several sources: online food co-op Bountiful Baskets, rescued produce from The Harvest Project Food Rescue in Dallas, and donations from Big Tex Urban Farms in Fair Park.
However, in order to empower, education is a must.
"We would have produce, different kinds of greens and squash, and veggies on hand and people would pass them up because they either didn't know what it was, or how to prepare it," Montgomery, 36, says. "We get to talk to people and educate people on these foods. Impacting people on a local level, face-to-face, that's been one of the biggest benefits of the Veggie Store."
And while Montgomery spearheads the initiative, he can't quite take all the credit.
"My mother started all of this," Montgomery says of his mom, Bettie Montgomery. "When people ask how I got into this, I say I got into this the same way I came into the world, through my mother.
"About three or four years ago, she found an online co-op, started using her own money to buy produce from them at wholesale prices, and give them out to them community. But along with that she would give out a little health information, like how the plant-based diet can help with things like heart disease and diabetes."
Now, the Oak Cliff Veggie Project has expanded to help create a community garden. It's located at St. Luke Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Red Bird Lane and Singing Hills Drive, in the same spot as the veggie store.
In late March, Montgomery and his team planted for spring, putting in seedlings, a fence and picnic tables "so that the garden will be more useful to the community," he says.
"We want people to know that you can come here and harvest freely, but you can also participate in planting freely," he adds. "We want the garden to be beautiful and a true community space, so that if you wanted to have a gathering, or a small birthday party, or whatever, it'd be available. The more community gardens there are, the better the neighborhood looks, the better everyone feels about the neighborhood, the better they feel about themselves, the more we want to interact with each other."
For more information about the Oak Cliff Veggie Project, visit facebook.com/VegstoreOC/ or email oakcliffveggieproject@gmail.com.
