PITTSBURGH — Steelers receiver James Washington recently took some time to show his support for a local farming effort, but not in a place you’d probably think of for farming.
Washington teamed up with Grow Pittsburgh and Braddock Farms, an urban farming non-profit that teachers people how to grow food.
“All the produce here is actually sold here in Braddock, so it’s actually helping the community and giving back to the local community here,” said Washington.
Braddock is considered a food desert, meaning it doesn’t have a grocery store within walking distance. Robert Grey from Grow Pittsburgh told Channel 11, “That means that people normally have to take a bus or have transportation to get up to the grocery store. And so, being able to sell produce in this community means that people don’t have to go far.”
The farm also has a youth market program. 20 teens from the area are able to grow food, explore issues of food justice and work farm stands in Homewood and Braddock, which impressed Washington.
He said, “If I was a kid, I would think that, you know, it’s cool because some kids may not think it’s cool to do this. But at the end of the day, when you think about it, you’re actually helping other people, and you’re providing food for people. So, at the end of the day, you’re kind of a hero.”
Washington spent hours working with his day on the farm his family owned, and he bought his own farm last off-season.
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