EASTOVER, S.C. — A $70,000 grant from the USDA is helping the Eastover Community Garden expand.
The current 1,800 square foot plot behind the Richland Library Eastover will soon become 9,000 square feet.
Inspired by his stepfather's love for gardening, Michael Dantzler started the Eastover community garden in 2014. Dantzler took a break from 2016 to 2020 and started back up in 2021.
Dantzler said applying for the grant was a "long process," taking four months to complete and two months to hear back.
Until now, Dantzler has relied on his own money along with community donations to keep the garden running. Looking at the small garden, Dantzler calls it humble beginnings.
The USDA grant will allow him to carry out everything he's envisioned.
"I really want to expand. I want it to be full of plants. Perennials, annuals, native plants," said Dantzler.
The garden already grows a myriad of plants such as potatoes, peppers, collard greens, and even sunflowers.
Everything grown in the garden is given back to the community.
The town of Eastover is known as a food desert-- an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food. The closest grocery store is 20 minutes away.
“It means a ton to me. It’s really important to us that this community has access to healthy, safe, and fresh food,” said volunteer Krystal Price.
Price said the grant money will also allow organic food to be grown at the garden, a commodity many rural areas can't afford.
"Being able to homegrown organic pesticide produce for the community is what I'm most excited for," said Price.
Dantzler said the goal of the garden is about feeding people's minds as well.
"That's really my gesture here is to get people more involved in the process and get people to know their own power,” said Dantzler.
The Eastover Native described the garden as a "sanctuary" for the community--a place where they can come together and do good.
"This is a wide-open space that we can come together," said Dantzler.
The Eastover Community Garden will now be among a larger network, the South Carolina Food Connection Community Garden with sites around the state.
If you're interested in volunteering for the garden, you can go to the Get Involved LR Facebook Page.