With prices continuing to rise at the grocery store, the imPOSSIBLE DREAM playground acts as a beacon of hope for people of all abilities interested in learning to grow their own food
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Food prices are rising at the grocery store, and people are searching for ways to cope with the increases. The imPOSSIBLE DREAMhas partnered with the URI Master Gardener Program to teach gardening skills to locals of all abilities. Now the question is, will these skills result in a large enough harvest to offset the rising costs at the store?
“In 2024, the food bank distributed 18.3 million pounds of food, which is a 15% increase from the previous year,” according to Andrew Schiff – the chief executive officer at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
He continued: “4.1 million pounds were fresh produce and 3.3 million pounds were culturally relevant foods.”
With the rise in need for produce, the Master Gardener Program at the University of Rhode Island has partnered with the imPOSSIBLE DREAM to create a space for people of all abilities to learn to grow their own food.
According to the program, “Through the train-the-trainer approach, over 800 volunteers serve as community-based educators, amplifying the impact of Cooperative Extension to improve environmental quality and build healthy communities throughout RI.” Connecting this to the mission of imPOSSIBLE DREAM – “that people of all abilities have access” — the partnership highlights the need for food to be accessible to all, as well as the knowledge of how to grow it.
In August 1990, the gates were opened to the imPOSSIBLE DREAM playground. Diane Penza, daughter of the original owner, John Florio Sr., took on her father’s legacy after his passing, becoming the executive director. She explains the need for a playground such as this one, stating: “The idea of our playground was formed from parents’ comments that there was no place where the entire family could enjoy themselves, as the child with a disability was always left out.”
The playground is adorned with swings, slides, see-saws, sandboxes, life-size play houses, miniature golf, basketball, jungle gyms, and a working train. Specialized equipment is integrated into each area of the playground and blacktop roadways throughout the park make everything accessible.
“Shaded picnic areas and accessible rest rooms afford families the opportunity to spend the day at our park,” Penza said, giving children of all abilities the ability to enjoy the act of “play.”
With food prices on the rise, there is another need – food accessibility. The partnership with the Master Gardener Program at URI offers something more than food pantry items to individuals and families: fresh produce and the skills needed to grow your own food. By allowing this gardening class to take place at imPOSSIBLE DREAM, people of all abilities are afforded the opportunity to learn the skills of gardening.
When asked about this collaboration, Penza, laughing, says she is not the teacher for the garden club. “I am not the one with the green thumb.”
She also delights in the fact that she gets to see the kids participating on their own time. “When they need a break they can go play on the playground or sit and munch on a snack,” she said. Penza emphasizes that “this is how some kids learn and we need to allow that… The success of this partnership is in the smiles I get to see on the kids’ faces.”
As food prices continue to be a concern, partnerships like this one act as an important reminder that access to food and the skills to grow food need to be shared with everyone – a demand for inclusivity in food access.
In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reported that “the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of economy-wide inflation, increased 0.1 percent from June 2024 to July 2024 and was up 2.9 percent from July 2023. The CPI for all food increased 0.3 percent from June 2024 to July 2024, and food prices were 2.2 percent higher than in July 2023.”
The imPOSSIBLE DREAM began as a dream for parents who were seeking a place where their children with special needs could go and partake in the fun of a playground. Now it is opening the doors to teaching that inclusivity should not be limited to play – learning gardening skills should also be fully accessible. Though the facility is only open seven days a week from April to October, the smiles from the little gardeners will hopefully yield another year of gardening and a harvest of hope in light of the rise of food costs.
The collaboration between imPOSSIBLE DREAM and the Master Gardener at URI raises questions about not just the accessibility of food but also the knowledge of growing your own food being accessible to people of all abilities. This partnership aims to promote inclusive gardening practices, ensuring that individuals with disabilities have equal access to gardening opportunities and education. It highlights the importance of creating an accessible environment where everyone can participate and benefit from the joy of gardening, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities.
This initiative not only addresses the practical aspects of accessibility, such as raised garden beds and adaptive tools, but also emphasizes the need for education and awareness to ensure that gardening knowledge and resources are available to all members of the community. Through this collaboration, imPOSSIBLE DREAM and the Master Gardener at URI hope to spark conversations and inspire other communities to embrace inclusive practices, ultimately creating a more equitable and supportive environment for all individuals. The harvest yielded at this year’s gardening club acts as a beacon of hope for future opportunities for knowledge and spaces that are accessible to all.
