Manteca’s new community garden that was the subject of a ribbon cutting Thursday is all about connecting people.

*Connecting them with gardening so they can grow their own food.

*Connecting them with food preparation and nutrition information.

*Connecting them with ways to improve their wellness.

*Connecting them with others in the community.

The community garden next to the Center Street tennis courts across from the library in downtown also showcases ways the city can strengthen the community fabric as the city grows.

Instead of just turning over an under-utilized plot of land to a non-profit dedicated to educating people about gardening, nutrition, and wellness; the city essentially presented a turn-key community garden ready to plant and learn.

The city put in place everything needed for success — 24 raised gardening beds, storage, fencing, lighting, storage, turf, water and electricity.

Urban Green Project will be able to take that and hit the ground running.

The work was completed with pass through COVID relief funds from the federal government that the city didn’t need to cover pandemic related costs they incurred or to fund other pressing needs such as street maintenance equipment and new police vehicles.

 “This is not just the celebration of a space, but of a new opportunity (for the community),” Lundgren said to more than 80 people in attendance.

Mayor Gary Singh echoed Lundgren’s outlook.

“It’s about more than growing vegetables,” the mayor said. “It’s about growing a community.”

It is being programmed as a learning center, a place to promote good nutrition, a community gathering place, and a way to learn that working in the soil with plants can elevate one’s well-being.

The garden that replaced grass along Poplar Avenue at the Center Street tennis courts is a joint venture between the City of Manteca and Urban Green Project.

Rajnish Khanna, a plant scientist who serves as the Urban Green executive director, has noted how the food system in place often means the fresh produce labeled as local in a supermarket can come from 400 miles away, almost as far as it is to Manteca from San Diego.

And while that can compromise the freshness and taste, it is common that other produce making its way to local supermarkets from as far away as Chile often spending weeks, and even months, in transit and storage.

Sourcing local produce provides better quality and freshness.

Urban Green’s vision is for people to be able to access fresh food all the time.

The goal is to create community gardens that function as educational and research hubs, community driven spaces and a place to grow food locally.

There is also a possibility of further expansion at the Center Street site including the possibility of adding a greenhouse.

To contact Urban Green, email hello@urbangreenproject.org,

The website can be found at urbangreenproject.org.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com