Poll shows support for Lynn garden

LYNN – Results of a local petition taken by downtownlynn.com that was released Friday shows widespread support for community gardens run by the Food Project, despite assertions by some that the vegetables attract rats and gang members.A poll conducted on the Daily Item’s Web site, www.itemlive.com, found that 49 percent of the respondents view the Food Project as a positive influence on students and the community. Twenty-nine percent were against the garden, while 22 percent were either unsure or felt improvements were necessary.The School Committee is reviewing a wide array of information related to the gardens and other issues as it prepares to vote on whether to renew the Food Project’s lease of open land at Ingalls Elementary School.Residents living near the school have asked city officials to eradicate the garden, claiming rodents forage on the freshly grown edibles while youth from organized street gangs congregate to eat vegetables and vandalize private property.The online petition by blogger Corey Jackson of downtownlynn.com attracted 147 comments in support of the Food Project.”If the farm were to be shut down, we lose 45 summer jobs, 30,000 pounds of local produce, curriculum for our children in Ingalls School and a big partner in creating a brighter, healthier future for all of Greater Lynn,” Jackson said.The Daily Item survey, online for three days, received 160 responses – 79 in support of community gardens; 46 who contend the gardens breed rats and serve as youth gang hangouts; 31 who might be supportive if improvements were made and 4 who were uncertain.Emily Kontos, assistant director of the Lung Cancer Disparities Center at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, was among those to respond to Jackson’s poll.”The involvement of these local teens with the Food Project has tremendous ripple effects on the entire community at large. It improves access and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables and it fosters community gardens, which are all essential in building a healthy community,” Kontos said.Soraya Cacici, a downtown loft dweller and licensed Realtor, said the gardens “improve the neighborhoods that they are in and help to create a higher perceived value for potential buyers.”Hannah Sharpless Graff said the Food Project’s presence in Lynn “brings life and vitality to an urban setting.”Casey Moir offered a personal view. “I have worked at the Food Project in Lynn since I was 15 years old and it is the reason I have been able to find success as a young adult. Please keep this wonderful place alive to help ensure that more youth can find their place as a part of their community as they grow older,” Moir said.Kathleen Curley from the Immigration Law Center and a downtown business owner for nearly 20 years, described the Food Project as “one of the best innovative projects that Lynn has launched in all the years I have been here. It is on the cutting edge of ecological awareness that provides the city with organically, locally grown, fresh produce as well as utilizing open space in the city for a good purpose.”Jay Harrison, the Food Project North Shore regional director, said the organization has experienced no significant rodent problems at its Munroe Street garden.”Rodents are a problem all over the city. At all of our sites, we try to be the best possible neighbor – proactive and responsible and willing to help out with neighborhood concerns,” Harrison said. “Because we have had a pest-control service this year that works with us, we aren’t experiencing any damage to our crops from rodents. For us, the big thing (is) normal garden beetles and vegetable pests, but they are usually crop-specific beetles.”Harrison said the Food Project has assisted the city in combating its rodent problem by working alongside Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development (LHAND) and other agencies.Reports of rodents and gang members hanging out at the Ingalls School garden are not accurate, he said.”When we came t