Urban Roots Garden Center, located at the corner of
Rhode Island and Brayton streets, will provide specialized Asian and African
heirloom vegetables, free from genetic modification, to cater specifically to
its surrounding community. Providing immigrants and refugees, who make up much
of the neighborhoods’ population, with foods and spices they would have only
had access to in their native countries. Urban Roots also offers a variety of
free workshops for all levels of experience in horticulture. These workshops
are hosted in conjunction with Grassroots Gardens Buffalo, the organization that facilitates
community gardening, said Urban Roots General Manager Patti Jablonski-Dopkin.
Urban Roots is a co-op gardening center, established over 10 years ago by a
small group of friends looking to improve their community. By Marcus Darby and Makeda Singletary