Phoebe Worth Helps Dream Community Kitchen Become Reality

Phoebe Worth Medical Center is strengthening its support of The Village Community Garden in Sylvester with a $50,000 donation toward a major expansion project. The contribution will help fund construction of a demonstration kitchen that will host healthy cooking classes and other free community events while also providing space and support for local food producers looking to launch or grow their businesses.

“Like Phoebe Worth, The Village Community Garden has become an integral part of our community and a point of pride for those of us who live in Worth County,” said Kim Gilman, Phoebe Worth President.  “By partnering with outstanding service organizations like the garden, we can broaden our reach in the community and help folks in our area sustain healthy lifestyles.”

Sam X and Eda Garcia, married artists and community activists, founded the garden more than a decade ago.  It’s a major component of Southern Sky Center for Diverse Arts and Culture, a nonprofit the couple established as an advocacy project to support and celebrate the Southern experience and other diverse cultures.

“Phoebe Worth plays a very important role here at the garden.  They’ve been with us from day one.  From the moment we said we wanted to do a garden, Kim said they wanted to be involved,” Sam X said.

In addition to supporting the garden financially, Phoebe Worth provides experts once a month to speak on important health and wellness topics at the garden.  Employees from departments throughout the hospital volunteer monthly.  And Phoebe has provided in-kind services such as signs that explain the health benefits of various crops grown at the garden.

“Sam is so tied into the community.  The garden is extremely popular, and we’re proud to support it,” Gilman said.

The kitchen – a 40’ by 80’ facility that will include one wall that can be opened to a covered area where people can sit and watch food be prepared – will provide additional opportunities for community outreach and education.

“We need this kitchen to teach people how to cook the food we give away,” Sam X said.  “I’ll give you an example.  When we try to give away zucchini, there are a lot of people who don’t take it because they say they don’t know how to cook it,” he added.

As co-chairs of the Sylester-Worth County Chamber of Commerce’s Agriculture Tourism Committee, Sam and Eda are already focused on helping local farmers and producers find markets and grow their business.  They believe the kitchen can take those efforts to a new level.

“We hope this will be a conduit for entrepreneurs.  We want to use the kitchen to support them by teaching them how to seek funding for their projects, how to package and market their products and how to connect with consumers.  It could really make a difference for individual families and for our community’s economy,” Garcia said.

The Phoebe Worth team is excited about the impact the kitchen will have on the community’s health.

“We know providing access to fresh produce and teaching people healthy ways to prepare it will help people with diabetes, hypertension, obesity and other conditions.  Addressing diabetes is one of our Community Health Needs Assessment priorities, and the work that will be done at the kitchen will help us address that,” Gilman said.

In addition to the Phoebe Worth donation, the garden received a $250,000 state grant to fund the design and construction of the kitchen.  Representative Bill Yearta, the former long-time mayor of Sylvester, worked with the Georgia House Appropriations Committee, Speaker of the House and the Governor a couple of years ago to secure the grant through the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

“The community garden is a great public/private partnership.  What Sam is doing out there has been recognized by a lot of people, and that’s certainly well-deserved.  People are learning to grow their own fruits and vegetables and prepare it and eat healthy, and that’s so important,” Rep. Yearta said.

Sam X is grateful all the support he has received, not just from Phoebe Worth and the state of Georgia, but from the City of Sylvester and Worth County.  He also has strong partnerships with Fort Valley State University, the 4H program and many other organizations and individuals.  He encourages anyone who wants to volunteer to simply stop by the garden at 201 Paulk Street in Sylvester.

“We’re out here every day.  Just show up and sign up,” he said.

As more people get involved, the garden continues grow, and the new kitchen allows him to offer new services, Sam is excited about being able to help more people and bring more cultures together.  “The dream is coming true,” he said.

###