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Farming groups want to eliminate Shively food desert by creating community food park

By Drew Gardner

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    SHIVELY, Kentucky (WLKY) — There’s a push underway right now to convert a portion of a former Shively golf course into a community food park for urban farming.

The former Farsnely Golf Center on Crums lane is prime real estate for the city of Shively and two local groups are looking to put some of it to good use. One of those groups is The Food Literacy Project.

“The Food Literacy Project’s mission is really about youth transforming their communities through food, farming, and the land,” said executive director Carol Gundersen.

The Food Literacy Project and the Gate of Hope Ministries were recently forced off the land where they had been growing fresh produce for years. It was LeTicia Marshall, who owns Bear Fruit & Grow LLC, who put the Crums Lane property on their radar.

“This piece of property is a huge asset economically to them and it is an asset to the community. It’s just not being utilized at all,” Marshall said.

The groups want to purchase 10 acres from the city for urban farming capable of producing more than 2,500 pounds of food per year for the community. The plan also calls for hiring more than 30 young people a year and offering job training and professional development.

“We have had community meetings. We canvassed the neighborhood to get feedback from the community about what they wanted and didn’t want,” Marshall said.

Through that feedback, they added more recreational components to their proposal like a year-round event space, splash pad, walking trails and a nature play area.

Monday’s city council meeting was filled with supporters of the project, especially the impact it could have on the current food desert that exists there.

Von Barnes is the founder of Kentuckiana Backyard Farms. He works to educate community members about urban farming and agriculture.

“I mean look around us,” Barnes said. “Kroger right over my shoulder that got closed. Walmart down the street that got closed. Where do people get food from?”

Madeline Marchal is a soil technician with the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District and works closely with urban farmers across the city. She attended Monday’s meeting to show support for the proposal.

“It’s part of Louisville’s comprehensive plan to put these things into place to mitigate our development with more green space,” Marchal said.

While at least ten people signed up to speak in support of the project, they never got the chance. The meeting was canceled due to the lack of a quorum.

Outside the meeting, Shively Mayor Beverly Chester-Burton said she supports the project but not the location. She says golfers still use the land and the city is working to make improvements.

“We’re in the process of trying to renovate one of the buildings down there so we can utilize it more. So it can be more functional so that people can utilize it,” Chester-Burton said.

Councilwoman Shanell Thompson spoke with supporters of the project outside city hall. She is one of the only council members to voice her full support for selling a portion of the land to the group.

“I believe there’s enough for everybody,” Thompson said.

Everything on the agenda for Monday’s city council meeting will be moved to its next meeting which will be held on Monday, Sept. 5. Leaders behind the proposal will be discussing their next course of action between now and then.

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