Kent State Stark students make a difference by planting fresh vegetables for the community. 

The Flash’s Food Garden started back in 2017 with a three-week summer class and has been a part of the Stark campus ever since. 

Christopher Post, a professor in the Department of Geography at Kent State Stark, started the garden for food access. 

“In the four years, we’ve given about 100 pounds of food primarily to Flash’s Food Garden,” Post said. 

Food access is important to Post; he teaches students in his class “Campus & Community Gardens” how to grow their own food.

“My goal is to model to students and teach students their concern about food access and agriculture — that there is a relative skill set that they can learn to grow their own food,” he said. 

The vegetables grown by the garden are distributed to multiple places including Flash’s Food Pantry, Interfaith Campus Preschool or Meals on Wheels. There are student workers who plant the vegetables during the summertime so the food is accessible in the fall. 

Hailey Weaver, a second-year senior, is the student worker who is watching the garden this summer. Weaver works in the Flash’s Food Pantry as well. She has worked both sides of preparing food and giving food. 

“I’ve taken on all the responsibilities for the garden this summer, which is great,” Weaver said. 

Weaver has helped with the garden the past three years, but this is her first summer of taking on all the responsibility. The garden is to help the community who do not have access to food. 

“This year we have the three beds which I’m really excited about. Having two has kind of limited our ability to give as much as we can to the community. Having another bed this year is going to improve the amounts that were able to give,” she said.

Flash’s Food Garden is located behind the library, close to the greenhouse. 

“Watering now and later on during the end of July is when we will start harvesting, once things pop up,” she said. 

In the earlier years of the garden, they would grow only a couple of things like tomatoes, green beans and peppers. The garden this year is growing a lot more with the three beds of space that have been provided. 

“This year we’re growing a couple of different varieties of peppers, carrots, green beans, green onions and tomatoes,” she said. 

For more information visit https://www.kent.edu/stark/flashs-food-garden.

Sam Wright is a reporter. Contact them at [email protected].