Hempstead gardeners grow food and friendship at park
Mary Crosson had a vision to create a community garden out of an underutilized space at Kennedy Memorial Park in Hempstead.
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For nearly a decade, a Hempstead woman has been growing produce at Kennedy Memorial Park for anyone who comes.
Nearly 12 years ago, Mary Crosson had a vision to create a community garden out of an underutilized space at Kennedy Memorial Park in Hempstead. Crosson is from South Carolina and a family with a rich agricultural background.
"I am a sharecropper's daughter. Agriculture is my life," Crosson explains.
She passed those lessons on to her kids and says she's always had a garden at home, but she wanted to create a space for gardeners in her community to get their hands dirty and grow fresh food. When she saw an opportunity, she reached out to New York Communities for Change to bring her idea to life at Kennedy Memorial Park in Hempstead.
Crosson is in the garden every day during the growing season helping out volunteers and holding classes for students who want to learn more about plants. The garden is filled with tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes kale and lettuce but also has more unusual things.
Crosson tells News 12 that over the years people have requested harder to find (but easy to grow) foods that are important to their cultures. That's why you'll also see plants such as okra, yardlong string beans and even callaloo, which is a green known as amaranth in the United States.
The garden wouldn't be possible without volunteers. Crosson encourages anyone interested to walk in during the morning and help out. People are also welcome to bring a bag and help themselves to some fresh food. She says it is first come, first served.
The garden will have its annual autumn harvest on Oct. 19 from 12-3 p.m. at 335 Greenwich St. in Hempstead. There will be music, games, and food to celebrate the end of a successful growing season.
