Sean Robison began the Liberty Gardens of Utah in Helper as an outreach and education program within the community. With the current turmoil that is perceived around the world and our community, in addition to how the economic shutdown has impacted community members, those involved wished to be a part of a larger solution.
After World War II, most households in the country produced at least a portion of their own food. Now, food is shipped across the world even though there is the ability to produce it at home. Robison stated that their property was initially purchased last June with the objective of starting a market garden to supply natural and fresh produce to the area.
“Our goal was to remove some prevalent problems in our current food distribution systems by reducing the travel time/distance from harvest to consumption or other form of utilization,” Robison stated.
In a study conducted by the USDA in 2018, it was discovered that, on average, apples traveled 1,555 miles, grapes traveled 2,143 miles and peaches traveled 1,674 miles. These are the average distances that the food would travel in America before being consumed.
While Robison recognizes the issue of this generating a large carbon footprint, he stated that their main goal is to fight another natural effect of shipping food such great distances. The effect is that when the food is harvested, it is not yet mature to allow it ripen and not spoil as it travels. He said this results in the fruit or vegetable never maturing to full nutritional value.
“Because natural healthy food is something that every family in Carbon County should have the privileges to enjoy, we thought of an interesting business model that we believe is a sustainable approach to ensuring that every family around us has the best food possible,” Robison stated.
The business model is to run a community garden and production farm side by side. The goal on the production side is to maintain pricing within 10 percent of available pricing at any of the large box stores. One way they are working to keep the cost down is by not seeking organic certification. Further, it is understood that a large number of families have displaced incomes at the moment and the community garden works to assist. Rather than requiring the produce to be purchased, there is a desire to assist anyone that is interested in learning how to grow their own.
“The community garden will be a production vegetable garden,” said Robinson. “The goal is to slowly make Carbon County food independent.”
All members of the community are encouraged to participate and there is currently work under way to complete and install 18 beds (30×25 inches) that will provide 1,125 square feet of production beds. It is believed that the garden may supplement the foods needed for 36 families. Currently, there is no fee for the garden as a donation of three cubic yards of compost were received in addition to the 12 cubic yards that were previously purchased.
At this time, donations of cardboard without a glossy print are needed. Those that wish to donate may contact Robison via Facebook by visiting Liberty Gardens of Utah. He may also be contacted by email at libertygardensofutah@gmail.com or by phone at (801) 214-5819. The garden is located at 5126 North Highway 6 in Helper, next to the New Life Christian Church.
Currently, apples, cherries, apricots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, corn and more have been planted at the garden.
“This is an experimental year for us and we are trying to figure out a few different things, such as what grows good here, what can we sell or what is the interest of the community for different products and how our micro-climate adjusts our growing season. We are right next to the Price River and with Helper being at the base of the canyon, our winds and weather patterns are always something to watch for,” Robison concluded.