Eatonville’s community garden is flourishing. The challenge for the gardeners in this historic black town is finding the funding to keep it going, expand production and keep supplying the community with organic veggies.
Last year, Master Gardener Ruford Shepherd says about 700 people came by the garden to collect veggies.
"Greens and peas and okra and tomatoes, that's sort of what we grew up on," says Master Gardener Ruford Shepherd.
"That will keep them out of the fast food so they can eat healthier."
Right now, the gardens are run on a shoestring budget by the Association to Preserve The Eatonville Community. The club got some seed money from the Florida Department of Agriculture to start the garden, now they’re looking for more funding for things like staff to weed the garden, irrigation, and someone who can come harvest the produce.
We tour the plot where Shepherd grows okra, corn, squash and other produce, and we talk to Lester Cunningham who started the garden club.