Alec Rodriguez HARLINGEN – As the government shutdown persists and SNAP receives only partial funding, one city housing authority has had community gardens that can help its residents if they’re in need.
The Harlingen Housing Authority has had community vegetable gardens since 2016, starting with the Le Moyne Gardens Apartments garden and later the Los Vecinos Apartments garden in 2017.
Hilda Benavides, the Harlingen Housing Authority chief executive officer, explained how these gardens can help the residents.
“It was to provide, you know, home-growing vegetables, having a herb garden, things like that,” Benavides said. “On teaching the families how to grow their own vegetables.”
Residents near these gardens can decide which crops to plant. Plants such as serrano peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, cauliflower, and jalapenos have been planted before.
Senior property manager, Mary Prieto, says that Harlingen Housing Authority had partnered with the city of Harlingen to build the gardens to educate families about eating healthy.
“What they wanted to do is educate our families how to be healthy, how to stay healthy, how the awareness and the importance of getting their vegetables and, and eating healthy,” Prieto said. “Most of all, to avoid having all these diabetes or obesity and, and just overall health issues that happen when you don’t eat properly.”
Prieto said if they receive a partnership opportunity, the Harlingen housing authority would be open to creating more gardens to help out low-income families and the elderly.
