On Saginaw’s northeast side, a new community garden will be constructed at the corner of Cathay and McGill Streets, thanks to $25,000 in grant funding from SCF’s Board of Directors’ Community Improvement Initiative (CII) Fund. Bethel AME Church will be leading the project, which is located just down Cathay St. from the new garden. This year’s CII Grant Award marks the 8th consecutive year for this competitive grant program.

The community garden project will feature a fruit and vegetable garden, children’s playground, walking path, a family picnic pavilion, and decorative fencing to surround the entire garden area. The project could earn an additional $5,000 in grant funding from SCF if the project is able to fundraise an additional $25,000 by June 2021.

The goal of this community garden is to reduce the impact of a lack of quality, healthy food resources in Saginaw’s northeast side. This project will allow students from nearby Arthur Eddy Academy, the nearly 250 residents of the surrounding neighborhood, and Bethel AME parishioners greater access to nutritious foods that are necessary to live a healthier lifestyle. Implementation of this project will increase the availability of nutritious foods and strengthen the community ties, while reducing environmental impacts and reduce some of the food security issues experienced by many residents.

The new garden space will also create a space where area residents and their families can spend quality time together in a safe space for gardening and physical activity by using the walking path and playground.

Photos above from a ribbon-cutting and community planting event at the garden site in June 2021.