BRYAN, TEXAS — A local non-profit organization, the REACH project, is transforming lives in Bryan College Station with education and community.
Regardless if home gardening is a hobby or a person's main source of nutrients, the REACH project is educating families on how to make their own.
Helping people grow food wherever they reside is what the REACH project serves up.
"Obviously you are not going to produce all of your own food basically in any setting that humans live in unless you have a lot of land or access to land consistently, but what you can do, is produce some amount of your own food," Sarah Gatson, Associate Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M and on the Advisory Board for the REACH project.
A non-profit organization that serves students and service employees and their families at Texas A&M, the REACH project, held a family farm day Saturday.
"It's geared towards the families of the REACH project, but with that being said we are always happy to extend the REACH family and bring in any family that would benefit from our services," The REACH Project's Founder Max Gerall said.
By planting seeds, opportunities grow. It’s something Max Gerall, the non-profit's founder, always encourages.
"So that when we have our transitional housing community a centerpiece of that is going to be an urban garden. We are going to be able to provide our families opportunities for up-scaling and to break into the urban agriculture field while also providing high-quality housing, so this is really planting the seeds, getting everything built up to when we have a full fruition of our vision of actual transitional housing out here," Gerall said.
All materials were provided to help REACH families try and build a garden themselves, as well as ways to cook what they are soon to grow.
"I've been with the REACH program for about a year and a half now. We come to all of Max's stuff that he has," Cheeri Beasley a College Station resident and member of the REACH Project family said.
"The whole concept is to provide all the tools, resources and environment that individuals need to reach their fullest potential. Whether that be in healthy eating, urban gardening sphere, whether that be in the educational sphere.. we do credit score, credit repair, personal finance, ESL classes, GED classes, we really cover the whole gamut," Gerall added.
Learning how to grow a garden in a container is what Cheeri Beasley hoped to learn Saturday.
"It's really important because one day you might not get to go to the store to get it," Beasley added.
The REACH project is looking to start a co-op urban garden on their land where REACH families can access space, practice their skills and provide opportunities.
"Not only is it an opportunity to save some money at the grocery store, to provide healthier options for your families, but the connection to being outside is proven to increase your dopamine, provides vitamins that are essential to life so it's really important to have these skills, to promote being outside, being active, burning energy and really kind-of bringing it all together," Gerall said.
Saturday's event was only the second farm day they have held. The first family farm day was in early April and they are looking to hold these events 3 times a year.