A Springfield community garden will receive $25,000 for a new outdoor solar kitchen.
The Jefferson Street Oasis garden is receiving the money for this expansion from the Rotary Club of Springfield.
The Rotary Club plans to mark the 10th anniversary of its Gourmet Food Truck Competition with a donation to the community garden.
There will be a ribbon cutting for the new outdoor solar kitchen on July 27.
The community garden on West Jefferson Street has over 100 plots for neighbors. The future kitchen will be used to educate gardeners about how to extend the shelf life of their produce, said Mary Jo Leventhal, director of the Rotary Club.
“It will have a countertop, it'll be wheelchair accessible, they'll have wash tubs, they'll have a six burner propane fired stove," she said.
Rotary Club President Eddie Bell said this donation to the garden is just a fraction of the charity that the Rotary Club does for its community. He said the club typically does around $100,000 a year in support of different causes.
The popular Gourmet Food Truck Competition is often a gateway for residents to explore the work the club does on a yearly basis.
"So not only is it a day that the community just really embraces and loves to attend, it's kind of one of the favorite events of the year, it actually serves a purpose where we're able to do stuff like the Jefferson Street Oasis," Bell said.
Organizers will announce the donation during the food truck award ceremony.
"Although we've already provided the grant to the gardens so they can actually get the project completed, we will be presenting them with a ceremonial check, and announcing the project and the support that rotary has provided for that project," Leventhal said.
The garden offers new growers prepared seedlings to start their crop. They also can bring their own plants as well.
Community members who are interested in signing up for a plot at the garden or volunteering can email the garden manager Terry Fredrich at Habitatcreateohio@aol.com.
