The initiative initially sprang to address the Mason Square neighborhood’s high rates of diet-related health problems, food insecurity, and the lack of grocery stores in the area. In our attempts to address poor food access, however, we’ve found opportunity in bringing disparate groups together for collaboration, education, and the joy of watching how things grow. Our partners include resident gardeners, mentors and mentees from the Community Service Institute, a Baystate Health librarian, educators from American International College’s Public Health Department, and members of The Springfield Food Policy Council.

By offering outdoor, educational workshops, lending organic seeds, and inviting community members and organizations to garden on city property, the library is able to expand its role in the community beyond the scope of traditional services and to demonstrate, in a different way, our commitment to the neighborhood. In addition, the partnerships developed with community organizations allow the library to address the silo-ing of local services and to engage non-library users.

The Mason Square Branch Community Garden and Public Health Initiative’s programs and activities encourage community engagement, participation, collaboration, and pro-social activities for both adults and youth. We have increased access to free, fresh, and organic produce in the neighborhood by giving more than 50 people packets of organic, non-GMO seeds for a variety of herbs, vegetables or flowers; by providing six local families and two non-profit organizations with community garden plots; and by growing additional vegetables, to be given to the public for free, in a library-run garden bed.