Minority women in New York’s South Bronx are turning three acres of “scruffy marginal land” into an herb and vegetable paradise. According to Treehugger.com, La Finca Del Sur, the “Farm of the South,” is an urban farmer cooperative with a goal of providing affordable, fresh produce to the community, while encouraging healthy living and educating the public about the environment and social equity.

The women – volunteers and community groups – grow herbs like thyme, sage, oregano and basil, along with lettuce, tomatoes, peas, eggplant and pepper and a variety of flowers. The garden is supported by the Bronx Botanical Garden, Greenthumb NYC and For A Better Bronx (FABB).

According to a 2008 article on Scienceline, the South Bronx has the highest rates of asthma and diabetes in the city. The streets of the community are lined with fast-food joints, and residents often have no information about healthy eating and few options for purchasing fresh produce.

But groups like “Learn It, Grow It, Eat It” (LGE) are trying to change that. A collaboration of the Council on the Environment of New York City’s Environmental Education, Open Space Greening and Greenmarket programs, LGE is housed in four high schools and three community gardens in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx. The group is incorporating high school health education with its support of community gardens (there are more than 600 such gardens in the city). The organization also offers high school credit for garden maintenance.