AKRON, Ohio — It might confuse some to see a person focused on conservation and sustainability cutting down a tree, but Kashava Holt said it’s part of a bigger plan to help an area in a food desert.
What You Need To Know
- Kashava Holt is the engineer behind Akron Urban Agriculture
- He said he’s transforming an empty plot of land into a community green space
- Holt said people who visit the space will have the chance to grow their own food and share their crops with the community
- He said the space will emphasize the importance of quality food because it is located in the middle of a food desert
“We’re going to create a mulch,” Holt said.
Holt said the mulch will provide Akron residents with more soil.
“This is living soil. Healthy soil is living soil,” Holt said.
Holt said his goal is for people to grow their own food on a plot of land that’s being transformed by the nonprofit he started, Akron Urban Agriculture.
“It will be a community green space that will be accessible for homeless residents, veterans [and] immigrants,” Holt said. “This will be a social area to where people can come together, grow food, try different types of foods from different cultures, because there’s a lot of different people comprising here in the city of Akron.”
The inspiration to start the nonprofit came to him in college, when Holt said he decided he wanted to build better urban communities through conservation and sustainability.
“There’s been food shortages. The price of food is going up and I understand that not everybody is going to be able to afford that,” Holt said.
Holt added he is still in the growth phase of his project, but said the space will emphasize the importance of quality food. It’s in the middle of a food desert.
“It’s a mile away on foot,” Holt said. “So that is considered, at this specific spot, and even at our garden area, an actual food desert, because that’s more than a mile away. It’s 1.2 miles away.”
Hold said finding a solution to this disparity motivates him.
“I wanted to be able to develop something to where people could become their bestest [sic] version, and I understand, even at an early age, that having good, quality food is important in order for you to be the best that you can be,” Holt said.
Holt said he’s planning to launch the project by the winter.
