She 'made a difference'

The Ohio Community Services Council has identified Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM) AmeriCorps member Patty Nally for her work on the ComCorps/Community Food Initiatives' 2009 "œGlouster Community Garden Project."

Nally was a 2010 Make A Difference Day Ohio Outstanding Project Award winner, one of 10 recently selected from over 1,100 across the state of Ohio.

In October, members of the OUCOM ComCorps programs chose to do a service project at the Glouster Community Garden in northern Athens County for Make a Difference Day, in conjunction with CFI, OSU Master Gardeners, Glouster Community Gardeners, CFI's Red Hot Chili Pepper 4-H Club and local community members. Joining forces, these groups have built 12 new 4' x 8' raised beds out of sawmill slabs and filled them with topsoil donated by the city of Athens, thus doubling the size of the gardens.

The Glouster Community Garden is part of a greater countywide CFI endeavor, as Executive Director Ronda Clark explained in a news release: "Creating community gardens will create healthier communities in the region. They gain access to affordable, healthy and fresh produce while developing a strong local food system. In addition to the immediate benefits of gardening other effects ripple into the rest of the community. For example, community gardeners are asked to donate 10 percent of what they grow to back to their community. The fresh food is reaching farther into the communities than just to the gardener's house and creating food security for all of our friends and neighbors."

Kathy Trace of OU-COM noted that the Trimble Township Bridgebuilders also praised the project. "(The members) think the project is a wonderful effort that will benefit the community by providing space for residents to grow their own food," she said in the release.