On the corner of Girard Avenue and 27th Street, Robert Seabury sits behind a table; fruit and vegetables strewn about in front of him accompanied by a sign that reads “farm stand.” He beams as he speaks about a recipe for peach tomato sauce he once made with the produce.

  Catty-corner from the humble set up is a patch of open grassy space. At one point, the plot of land was earmarked to play host to a Mcdonald’s drive-through, but through the efforts of Seabury and his neighbors, it is now a view from the stand brimming with fresh foods.

  Seabury said he has seen the dynamic of West Girard Avenue meld over the years, transforming and growing from a polarized environment where the farm stand once caused more anger than joy, to one where neighbors from all areas of the avenue can bond over food.

  The West Girard Community Council (WGCC), a nonprofit where Seabury serves as a board member, was born out of a larger group of neighbors called the Girard Avenue Alliance who, when informed in the early 2000s that a McDonald’s was to take the control of the lot where their grocery store once stood, battled against the fast-food mogul and won.

 But, for some that victory was not the end — many wanted to continue to fight for healthy food options and awareness in the area beyond a grocery store or a McDonald’s blockade.

 In 2004 the West Girard Community Council was created, bringing a farm stand and food cupboard to a collection of neighbors who could only recall what it was like to have fresh food just around the corner. “You have to understand the outrage the people felt,” Seabury said. “Here we used to have a grocery store and then to put in a McDonald’s — I mean we were a food desert.”   At the time when the now nearly 13-year-old farm stand began, a grocery store had not been seen near West Girard Avenue since 1997. WGCC Board Member Nicole McDonald recalls having to take public transit to a Whole Foods in order to shop because it was the closest option available.

  “And even though Whole Foods was closest it was really not the most affordable option,” she said.

  Sourced through a partnership with Farm to City, food for the WGCC stand is affordable and locally sourced, coming from the McCann Family Farm in South Jersey, Brewerytown Gardens here in Philly and the Metropolitan Bakery in Fishtown. Some members say that they have seen neighbors line up for a taste of the bakery’s sumptuous bread.

  Community enrichment booths staffed by local organizations, like Action Aids and Women of Faith and Hope, have accompanied the stand at times as an added resource for neighbors, Seabury said.

  In the years since the neighbors’ war against the fast food joint, a Bottom Dollar has made a brief appearance in the neighborhood and a new grocery store now sits nearby. Still, the farm stand has not lost its fever in the community that Seabury says has been brought together by the fresh food sold on their street corner.

An Avenue Divided

  Seabury described the Avenue as an area once divided. He paints a picture of a neighborhood fractured by racial tensions. In their first year, the South Jersey farmer who stocked the stand was viewed by some as an outsider — a stranger, a white man taking money from the community of West Girard Avenue.

  “It was rough,” Seabury  said.

  The idea of bringing people from both sides of the Avenue was something that Seabury said many considered to be nothing short of outrageous. But, the stand continued on despite the tension, proving to serve a larger purpose than a simple beacon for fresh food.

  Now manned by a volunteer staff that is racially diverse, there is an ease in the air as neighbors pass the farm stand — smiles and conversations are exchanged.

  “It is bringing people together from different areas of the community and people see each other, meet each other, sometimes talk with each other and share ideas and recipes,”Seabury said.

  For McDonald, one year on the board has helped her prove to other community members that she cares and is committed to their home.

  “It is really important to learn about your neighbors — they have so many incredible stories to share,” she said. “Being apart of something like this… it just knits you closer together.”

An Open Cupboard

  For all that the farm stand gives to the community, McDonald said that its true function is as the main fundraiser for a food cupboard that Seabury said serves an average over 40 families living nearby.

  As the area rapidly develops, Board Member Nissa Eisenberg recalls the importance of remembering those who came to area first — those who bought homes and raised families long before many who currently inhabit the area arrived on West Girard.

 “Some are struggling now — It is meaningful to cross those economic boundaries,” she said. “Everybody appreciates good food and making it easier to put on the table.”

  Without a headquarters of their own, the food cupboard operates out of the Fairmount CDC building on 27th Street. Twice a month residents can come to pick up food allotted to the organization by the SHARE Food Program, supplemented by community donations — once in the beginning of the month for the main distribution and once at the end for a smaller boost.

  Since the group formed they have served more than 300 households, Seabury said. But as food allotments from the SHARE Food program has grown smaller since 2008, council members have sometimes had to make up for the deficit with personal donations. This month’s allotment fills one shelving unit in the basement of the CDC.

  “A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet,” Seabury said.  

  McDonald says she hopes that the community hears WGCC’s message that there are still neighbors in need of assistance. She urges more to volunteer for the food stand or the food cupboard.

  While the three-person board does not complain, McDonald said that after juggling the responsibilities of the council and full-time jobs or personal lives, additional help would allow the organization to grow and  to take on more.

  “We want to evolve to take on the growing needs of the neighborhood,” Eisenberg added, stating the importance of finding new and relevant ways to mobilize the issue of fresh food access.

  “Many of us kind of moved to the area because the community sense was so strong,” McDonald said. “So, any way that we can give back to the community even if it is just through food — healthy food — it is a start, right?”

Want to get in touch with West Girard Community Council and find out how to get involved? Reach out to http://www.westgirardcc.org/ or westgirardcc@gmail.com or 215-232-2728