Do you dream of having your own backyard vegetable garden but need expert help? If so, check out the Grow Food in Your Backyard Project! Developed in collaboration with Slow Food Prescott, Yavapai County Cooperative Extension, and the Roaring Fork Food Alliance, this project matches new gardeners with local, experienced mentors who offer guidance at every step along the way.
Gardening and growing your own food offers a multitude of physical and mental health benefits. Studies show that gardening can improve physical fitness, lift mood, reduce depression, lower blood pressure, and increase fruit and vegetable intake — all of which help prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illness.
Join Dignity Health, YRMC’s Your Healthy Kitchen in our latest episode as we check out the preliminary results of the Grow Food in Your Backyard Project. You’ll hear from Jeff Schalau at Yavapai County Cooperative Extension, Gwen Garcelon from the Roaring Fork Food Alliance, Molly Beverly with Slow Food Prescott and Melissa, who gives a tour of her new backyard garden while sharing stories with her mentor and enthusiastic family.
In addition to personal and family benefits, gardens can also positively impact communities. After all, produce from backyard and community gardens can be shared, improving the health of everyone nearby. Social bonds form from growing and sharing food, offering a multitude of emotional benefits. In addition, local gardens bolster local food resilience, an important factor in managing a changing climate and potential disruptions in fresh food supplies.
To learn more and get connected with the grow Food in Your Backyard Project, contact Molly Beverly at [email protected]. Remember also to check out all of our educational videos and easy, delicious recipes (that you can make with your garden produce!) at yrmchealthconnect.org. Follow me on Facebook too, at YRMC’s Your Healthy Kitchen, where I regularly post what I make in my own kitchen, plus share my favorite food and gardening links on the web.