South Memphis community garden expands services with $250K donation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Green Leaf Learning Farm, owned and operated by Knowledge Quest in South Memphis, is celebrating two new greenhouses to help its operation.

The greenhouses were built after a $250,000 donation from several partners including $100,000 coming from the City of Memphis, according to Knowledge Quest Executive Director Marlon Foster.

“Our greenhouses were supported by the City of Memphis, Valero Energy, the AARP, and our Tennessee NICS Division,” Foster explained.

According to the USDA, food desert communities are low-income areas more than one mile away from a grocery store. Cash Saver is the closest grocery store to the Knowledge Quest community, nearly three miles away.

Officials said the two greenhouses will contribute to the ways they help feed their neighbors.

“They are really going to make for a lot of season-extension on the farm. They’re really going to expose our students to all the forms of indoor agriculture, and all the ag-tech and ag-innovation that will come from these new environments,” Foster explained.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2022 WMC. All rights reserved.