Macon Magazine

Truist.com Truist Bank, Member FDIC. © 2022 Truist Financial Corporation. Truist, the Truist logo and Truist Purple are ser vice marks of Truist Financial Corporation. Care isn't just what we do at Truist—it's who we are. We make sure people around us feel supported and more in control. We find out what's important to our clients, and make it important to us. We get involved in meaningful ways with our communities. Why? Because real connections and real care create better outcomes. Now that's powerful. When you start with care, you get a different kind of bank. Grow Macon Incorporated uses gardening for peace FOUNDER CHARMISKA MYERS BELIEVES FOOD INSECURITY TIES DIRECTLY TO VIOLENCE IN COMMUNITIES "YOU HEAR IT ALL THE TIME – you are what you eat. Our food has a direct connection to mental and emotional health." So said Charmiska Myers, who is on a mission to use her passion for gardening to alleviate violence in Macon with the use of community gardens. Myers founded Grow Macon Incorporated last year to make this vision a reality. The impact of violence has come straight to Myers's door. Growing up in the Fort Hill neighborhood of Macon, she heard of numerous acquaintances getting caught up in violent activity. It came to her doorstep when her sister-in-law was hit by a stray bullet. Myers found a sense of healing and purpose when husband found a garden at a community center gym – soon, she was hooked on gardening, too. "Grow Macon Incorporated was started as a call to action. These kids need to find something to do," Myers explained about her purpose. After receiving a Macon Violence Prevention grant and filing for 501(c)3 nonprofit status, Myers is working with partners to establish more community gardens in Macon neighborhoods beset with both violence and food insecurity. Her first gardens will open in the coming months, with upcoming partnerships between the Bibb County Sheriff's Office and the Juvenile Justice Center. Myers said she feels activities that provide restoration and healing, like the positive psycho-social impacts of gardening, can lead to a decrease in crime. "You hear people say it all the time: If I don't have it and I need it, I'll take it. Well, what if we give you the tools to make it yourself?" she said. Learn more at growmaconinc.com, Grow Macon Inc on Instagram, or Grow Macon Non-Profit on Facebook. - JULIA MORRISON including farmer's markets. He currently grows and harvests his own watermelon and greens. He's proud to be a representation of the farm-to-table movement and doesn't take it for granted. "A er meeting and talking with a variety of people, especially seniors, I realized how much they need this service," Young said. "Many are disabled or can't afford to get around to fresh groceries." Those conversations pushed Young to go to the Senior Centers around town each month, add more stops, and even start accepting EBT. He's constantly trying to find new ways to make fresh food accessible to every individual. He has held three annual community events called Loy's Community Give Back, where he feeds hundreds of families in the area for free. In December, he fed 400 families, handing out food on the corner of Third and Hazel Streets. "So many people depend on me," Young said. With the loan from ECD, Young is in the process of opening two brick and mortar locations near Beall's Hill at 1217 Third St. and another near Unionville at 2384 Pio Nono Ave. He's hopeful that he will be able to open the location on Third Street later this year. "To go and get a load of fruit and come back and watch the joy on people's faces when they can tell you it was the best day they ever had," Young said, "that experience of it, and building relationships with people, connecting through that way, is the best." Young is committed to feeding his community, but he confessed that he does get overwhelmed since he is just one person. He encourages more people to learn about growing their own food, and if able, give back. When able, he works with local nonprofits such as Fathers Among Men, which exists to teach teenagers and children important life lessons. "I give them summer jobs, teach them how to chop firewood, how to harvest, letting them earn money, and talking to them about the importance of education," Young said. "It's more than just about food." He's hoping this generation and future generations will step up to close the gaps of food insecurity and food deserts. He encourages more people to open up pantries and learn how to get involved. FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023 | maconmagazine.com 79

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