Drive two miles west of the Atlantic Ocean in Monmouth County, and you will find acres and acres of lush farmland, which is why New Jersey is nicknamed the Garden State.
It’s not something you would associate, though, with Asbury Park. But in one of the formerly rough neighborhoods, you will discover not one but three farms run by Interfaith Neighbors that are prospering and providing food for the hungry and the some of the high-end restaurants along their oceanfront.
The heart is Kula Farm, 50 by 150 feet, which grows vegetables and flowers in the dirt during the warm weather and hydroponically -- vertical growing -- all year-round.
Mathias van Oosterhout, one of the farm managers, has designed an elaborate computer system that regulates and waters the tall, erect rows of different varieties of kale, chard, basil, lettuce and much more. He calls it a “closed loop system,” which uses recycled plastic to anchor each plant so it can mature.
The farm employs young people to not only learn farming techniques but also acquire work skills that can lead to other jobs. About a dozen local restaurants come regularly to the farm to purchase produce, including flats of various garnishes. Monthly, the farm hosts a “Farm to Table” dinner on site that can accommodate about a dozen or more diners and raises funds for the operation.
The farm managers also manage two more nearby dirt farms. One is for a local church and provides fresh vegetables and even some fruit -- I tasted a delicious strawberry – to its members. The second is a community garden where any resident can come by and harvest food.
The anchor of the Springwood neighborhood that hastened its rebirth is a steel-and-glass building on the corner of Springwood and Atkins that was built both by IFN and the city of Asbury Park. It houses IFN’s Kula Cafe, a Business Development Center and the SOAR program. The city also placed the first police station in the area in the building along with a senior citizen center and the Chamber of Commerce. There are also affordable rental apartments on the top.
“Kula” is a Sanskrit word for “community.” And that is what this café has done for the neighborhood: anchor a renaissance of an area ravaged by civil unrest or riots in 1970. Ninety businesses and many residents fled, according to Diane Shafton, a community outreach specialist for IFN. There used to be 17 music venues and only one remains -- the famous Leo Carp’s Turf Club -- which will soon reopen as a community music venue, again.
Feedback from many of the hospitality business owners in town was that the young people lacked the skills to work in their establishments, IFN Executive Director Paul McEvily said.
So IFN recently started SOAR, which is no acronym, just an impetus to help young people “soar in life,” McEvily said.
The day I visited, four young adults were in an instruction class “to help them find a career track to advance life skills,” he added.
It costs about $10,000 to $12,000 to invest in each person throughout their time in the program. For example, they would provide day care while they get training and intern.
The Rev. Semaj Vanzant, pastor of Second Baptist Church right across from Kula Café, is the SOAR director. He says the people enrolled go into auto and information technology, solar energy, transportation and even farming.
“They have impediments to overcome even as children at a young age,” he said. “We are changing the fabric of Asbury Park.”
Gillian Edgar is associate director of the Business Development Center, which has provided support, counseling and inexpensive cubicle space for first-time businesses since 2014. The well-known and very successful Second Life Bikes on Main Street got its start there. And through the years, that is the “kula” IFN has engendered: everyone gets a second chance.
The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.
Details ...
Kula Cafe is located at 1201 Springwood Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712; 732-455-0514. Kula Urban Farm is located at 115 Atkins Ave, Asbury Park; 732-455-0511. Both are run by Interfaith Neighbors, 810 Fourth Ave., Asbury Park; 732-775-0525; info@interfaithneighbors.org.
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July 26, 2020 at 07:00PM
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From farms to cafe to learning to SOAR in Asbury Park | Faith Matters - NJ.com
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