Carmel garden that feeds the hungry could get swallowed up by city development push

CARMEL — Development comes fast here, especially along the lucrative Monon Greenway.

Andrew Fritz, who helps feed the hungry, hopes it doesn't swallow him up.

“I’m just worried that as density in the city increases, spaces like this won't fit in,” said Fritz, 36, who manages Gleaning Garden on the property of the Monon Square Shopping Center. "The reason I started it was because there wasn't a garden like this downtown providing free fresh produce."

The root of Fritz's unease is the city's plan to buy the mall, on Range Line Road just north of 126th Street, for $15 million and sell it to a developer who will build a project containing apartments, condos, shops and restaurants. Though city officials have said they will work with the handful of businesses in the strip mall to see if they can find spaces for them, Fritz is concerned his secluded triangle of beneficence — about 1/10th of an acre — won't fit in the plans.

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"I know they (the city) have said they want greenspace," but that often means just a lawn or a small park with benches, he said. "This is more. It is also a habitat for birds and insects," Fritz said.

Garden started with a squirrel and a bicycle

Fritz got into community gardening, literally, by accident. Six years ago he was riding his bike downhill on a trail when he ran over a squirrel and crashed. During his recovery, his doctor told him he would heal faster if he ate fresh fruits and vegetables. But for Fritz there were two problems with that sound advice. He had recently taken a large pay cut so he was short of money and he never, ever, ate fruits or vegetables.

"I couldn't afford fresh produce but, besides that, I didn't eat them, ever," Fritz said.

But he grew up in rural Indiana and was, at least, familiar with basic farming and also had a degree in landscape architecture. So Fritz looked for a space where he could grow his own fruits and vegetables and found an abandoned garden near the Monon, south of Union Brewing Co.

He asked the mall owners, Vivian and Jess Lawhead, if he could cultivate the land; they told him to dig in.

A day's worth of produce, for the taking

Now the garden has a wooded area with some benches and is open to anyone who wants to grab a free day's worth of produce. This year, the bounty includes tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and green beans. Other years it's produced eggplant, spinach and bok choy.

About six volunteers help farm the plot, and a few of the mall's eateries also participate in maintaining the garden. The owner of the Jamaican Reggae Grill has a small patch in which he grows basil and peppers. The Soho Cafe & Gallery shop provide coffee grounds and Union Brewing grain for compost.

The food that's left over goes to the Carmel United Methodist Church food pantry a few steps away — typically about 10 pounds a week.

Natalie Oehler, co-director of the pantry, said having Gleaning Garden provide fresh produce is "a luxury"  and much needed.

"There is nothing like a freshly picked Indiana tomato," she said. "We are big on fresh fruit and vegetables here, so they help a lot."

People 'surprised' by need for food pantries

The pantry is one of 43 in Hamilton County and serves 17,000 people a year. Its biggest contributors are big-box retailer Meijerand Gleaners Food Bank of Indianapolis. Once a month, residents can pick up a week's worth of food, which includes produce, meat, bread, pasta and other dry goods. 

"A lot of people are surprised there is such a need in Hamilton County, but there is," Oehler said. "But there are a lot of people working in the service industry, minimum-wage jobs, and if some unexpected expense comes up, they can't afford food."

In that sense, the pantry acts as a "bridge" she said. Most people take the assistance for about four months until they recover financially, Oehler said.

"It gives them the time to pay for repairs on the car a or whatever emergency they have," Oehler said.

Fritz, meanwhile, said he hopes to get the chance to persuade officials to let him keep his spot after redevelopment.

"It's not necessarily about a 'Save the garden'," crusade, he said. "It is about keeping something that allows community members to participate, physically, in something that helps the community."

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Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317 444-6418. Follow on Twitter and Facebook.