In order to increase access to fresh food in impoverished Binghamton neighborhoods, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation awarded the Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments organization a $39,592 Environmental Justice grant to develop community gardens.

The grant, announced Oct. 29, was written by two Binghamton University alumni, Scott Barvainis and Dan O’Brien.

“The grant was about environmental justice,” Barvanis said. “We had an idea for a project that met the criteria and increased food access for the poor. We got the sites in low-income areas and talked to residents, who were very supportive.”

Money will go toward two sites, one in Center City near Columbus Park and the other on the North Side, on Virgil Street, according to VINES chairman Jon Yerger.

The grant money will not be received for another two to four weeks since the acceptance package must go through several groups, according to Barvainis. It will likely be dispersed in three waves.

The target areas, which feature many apartment buildings, are considered “food deserts” because there are no grocery stores and no land to grow healthy food, according to Amelia LoDocle, the Sustainable Development Planner.

The last two grocery stores on the North Side, a Grand Union and Great American, were bought up by larger chains, according to LoDolce. When supermarkets consolidate, they often close branches in poorer areas.

“It is a neighborhood misperception that low income communities do not have buying power,” said Councilwoman Leia Webb.

According to Webb, efforts to increase access to fresh produce have included weekly farmers markets, which also help local farmers. Farmers markets have been held Downtown for the past four to five years, and an additional one was started on the North Side this past year. The first year was very successful, Webb said.

“We want a conventional grocery store or food co-op,” Webb said. “But we are also looking into unconventional solutions.”

According to Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan, community gardens, for which the grant was awarded, are one such alternative.

“Community gardens beautify our neighborhoods, cultivate nutritious and low-cost produce, increase local buying power and bring residents together, building a sense of empowerment and pride,” Ryan said.

According to LoDolce, the success is a function of the times, as more people have come to realize the value of locally grown food.

“I’m excited that the residents are stepping up and looking at ways to stimulate the local economy,” Webb said.

According to Webb, the students at the Columbus school do gardening projects, which enhance useful skills such as building.

“It’s great that the DEC gave us this grant to help support this effort,” Webb said.

VINES leases sites and then goes through the neighborhoods, talking to people near the sites, according to LoDolce. Afterward, interested community members get together, talk and make plans.

“The community members must feel a sense of ownership. It’s their garden,” LoDolce said.

The grant money will finance administration, compensating those who purchase supplies and maintain educational programs through the Cornell Cooperative Extension, according to Yerger.

An estimated 60 percent will be spent within the first year, he said.