- Video shows the Tehachapi community garden volunteers discussing their goals for the future, beginning with a fundraiser to expand their growing abilities.
- The Village Tehachapi Community Garden is a volunteer-run organization partnered with the local nonprofit, Tehachapi Humanitarian Relief Group.
- They grow organic produce for everyone in need within the mountain community.
FULL STORY:
The need for community gardens in rural areas isn't often considered, but in Tehachapi, there is one local space that is planting the seed for just that.
"It's small now, but we're hoping that when it takes off, we can make a really big difference in our community," says Paige Lanteigne, a volunteer in the garden.
The community garden is a project Madeline Ruebush is passionate about. Not only did Tehachapi not have this resource before, but she says rural areas aren't usually associated with needing community gardens.
"It takes energy and time to grow food. We're volunteers and we have people donating money, and we're struggling with that already," said Ruebush. "Even though we're a rural community, community gardens are an important piece of the community."
This summer was the first full season, and everything grown was distributed to those in need.
For now, the garden is operating on a private lot behind The Village Tehachapi on East H St.
Through a partnership with Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District, they are planning to expand downtown.
"So we're hoping with [expanding] the community garden in town that it will be a public community garden that people can come and go in and out of freely," said Ruebush. "We're raising money to kind of get that started. That's our big thing right now, and that'll be open to everyone in Tehachapi."
The expansion is important as the need grows.
"Especially with food insecurity getting worse due to inflation and grocery prices rising," Lanteigne says.
A joint congressional economic committee report compares state inflation rates between Jan. 2021 to Nov. 2022.
According to the report, California has had a 13% inflation rate increase since 2021.
With costs rising, the garden hopes to ease the burden on their community.
"What is more beneficial than fresh produce and homegrown healthy food?" Justina Engen, president of Tehachapi Humanitarian Relief Organization says.
One of the plants grown in the garden is tomatoes. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report tracking the price of produce, in 2020, the average price for tomatoes ranged between $1.00 to $4.00 per pound.
"I can tell just the little bit that we do here helps keep people going," Lanteigne said. "It gives people hope, which is really important right now."
Lanteigne helped organize the ongoing fundraiser for the garden. She says their goal is to raise $1,200 for additional garden beds, equipment repairs and other items to make the space feel community-oriented.
For the current fundraiser, the garden partnered with Seedmoney, a nonprofit that supports small gardens. The deadline for the Seedmoney fundraiser is Dec. 15, and anyone looking to make a donation can do so here. Any donations made after Dec. 15 can be sent to the garden's Paypal account, TehachapiHR, including a comment that the donation is for the garden.
For more information on how to get involved with the community garden, updates are posted regularly on their Instagram and Facebook pages.
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