Promoting healthy eating through community gardening is the main reason Black Mountain garners the distinction of being named a Fit Community in North Carolina. You will hear from Dr. John Wilson, the founder of the community garden movement in Black Mountain. This former pediatrician is busy with the anticipation of each harvest and what the food means for his small, but vibrant community.
Fit Community shows how people who live in Black Mountain are encouraged to come and learn how to grow their own food and to grow food for those in need. You will learn how elementary school children in the last four years have raised about 10,000 lbs of fresh vegetables to distribute to needy families in Black Mountain.
You will hear from Katie Towner the Health Services Program Administrator for the Town of Black Mountain as she describes how the garden fosters community:
“Everyone wants to support each other. There is a sharing of stories, knowledge and food and all of that comes together when people interact in that way and have a common ground to look at, which is gardening. It opens up everyone’s hearts and they want to embrace this community.”
Black Mountain received Fit Community grant monies from North Carolina’s Health and Wellness Trust Fund to pay for “Eat Smart Black Mountain” a community garden initiative that coordinates the existing community garden with a new school satellite garden, and school nutrition program.
Meg Cole is the town’s new school garden educator and believes one of the main focuses of the school garden program is to connect kids to where their food comes from and teach them how to make healthy food choices.
Healthy policies are also part of Black Mountains Fit Community lifestyle. The park and recreation department strives to serve only healthy foods at town functions and there are other policies, like tobacco cessation, which contribute to Black Mountain’s overall well being.
