PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — A Marine veteran is teaching young kids in Petersburg about the skills of farming.
For the last year, kids from around the city have worked on the garden, which is located near Peabody Middle School.
Some parts of Petersburg are food deserts, meaning people living in the area don’t have access to fresh produce. This project not only provides fresh produce for locals, but also teaches students a new, useful skill.
“We found one kid out of 145 that said his grandfather had a garden,” former Marine Michael Jackson told 8News. “The rest of them had never seen a string bean, a pea, a black eyed pea — never even seen tomatoes on the bush.”
When the students harvest the produce, they get to take some home. Some items from the garden also feed the elderly and a women’s shelter in Petersburg.
