SALT LAKE CITY — It’s no secret that nonprofit groups in Utah and around the country are facing possible budget cuts, particularly from the federal government. But at Wasatch Community Gardens in Salt Lake City, not only do they continue growing thousands of pounds of food for local pantries and shelters, they’re still helping regrow the lives of dozens and dozens of women coming out of incarceration and addiction.
People like Carrie Allred, “There’s two outcomes of being a heroin addict: death or prison.
And I’m not dead or in prison, so…” Allred had been a heroin and meth addict for decades before finally enrolling in a treatment program. One that offered her the opportunity to stay clean and sober by working at Wasatch Community Gardens.
“If you can take care of a plant for a year, it increases your chances of staying clean and sober,” stated Katie Dwyer, Executive Director of Wasatch Community Gardens. “We have about 16 women that are served through the farm annually.”
Dwyer has been Wasatch Community Garden's executive director for the past five years.
She says their job training program is one of the very best things that grows from this garden. “And those 16 women, combined with our farm teams, are growing literally thousands of pounds of food that go back into the community.”
Like most nonprofit groups, Dwyer says Wasatch Community Garden is always aware of the possibility of budget cuts, “So nonprofits like us are having to compete a little harder to get a slice of the funding pie.”
But she says right now their funding is stable. This allowed them to turn what was a 1-acre patch of dirt into a flourishing garden space in less than a year.
One that brings food to the community and new life to people in recovery, like Carrie Allred, who recently celebrated five years of sobriety. “This program enabled me to come and be in a safe place where, no judgment," Allred exclaimed. "They love you just because you’re you, and they’ll do anything to help you. They will open all kinds of doors and just have to walk through them.”
Just about everything being grown at the garden right now is going to be part of a huge plant sale, May 10 at the Utah State Fairgrounds. It’s a fundraiser for Wasatch Community Gardens, but also a place where folks who want to start their own urban farm can get some tips from the pros.
