The Los Angeles County UC Cooperative Extension Common Ground gardening program was credited in a TV spot this week for providing information to the public about growing food at home to offset the rising cost of fresh produce.
Reported by Janet Choi of KTLA News, the 2:22-story opened at the a lush Altadena garden. Mary Gotharad said she and her husband have cut their expenses by selling their second car, stopping cable TV, and conserving water and electricity, but they still "enjoy food."
"This helps us live rich," she said. "We grow a multitude of vegetables: really fine artichokes, gourmet, vine-ripened tomatoes."
UCCE Common Ground program representative Yvonne Savio was also interviewed for the story.
“The good news and the bad news is there are more gardeners than ever, but the bad news, of course, is that it’s a necessity now for many people. Because they rely on whatever they can grow," Savio said. "Spending a dollar or two dollars for an artichoke or one green pepper or one cucumber, when you grow your own, you’ll get 30 or 40 of them inside of a week.”
Director of the LA County UCCE office, Rachel Surls, was also recently quoted in the media about interest in home-grown food. In the article, posted on ABC network's Web site, Surls commented on the option of community gardening for people who don't have access to vacant land.
"You get these things, such as increasing food prices and the high cost of gas, and it really bites into a family's budget," Surls was quoted. Community gardens, she said, "are an easy way to respond to that."
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