I am sure most people have heard bits and pieces about the Marathon Farm coming to Brewerytown. Well, last night we attended a very well attended public meeting regarding this project at the Greater Brewerytown CDC, and learned so many details that our mind is spinning! Marathon Grill owner Cary Borish spoke first, and he focused on his restaurant's motivations in backing this project.
I think there's an extremely positive movement going on in the Philadelphia region of people being more thoughtful about what they are putting in their bodies and the impact that it's having on the environment," says Borish. "I think it's extremely important, and it feels great to be a part of it.He also spoke about how he does not wants this to be a farm that happens to be located in Brewerytown, but rather that it be Brewerytown's farm. Lastly, he emphasized that the farm will be a physically beautiful space.
Following up on that point, Patrick Dunn spoke about the many many programs and classes he is planning, including food preservation, cooking healthy on a budget, composting, rain water collection, youth programs, general gardening, bee keeping and so many more. In this task he was helped by the multiple suggestions from the neighborhood residents who attended.
The audience was also very excited by the plans for community spaces. There will both a pocket park for the community to use, as well as dedicated community garden plots. We have a copy of the application for the community plots, so anyone who is interested can email us for a copy.
Given that they are doing so much for our community, we should all return the favor by coming out to volunteer for their construction.
Long story short, this farm is going to be amazing for Brewerytown, and anyone living here will be gaining an incredible neighbor!