Promote community gardening

Albritton said that garden would complement existing projects at the Georgia K. Battle Center and Southeast Elementary School.

The garden could also "multiply the effects" of other proposed streetscape improvements for MLK, such as the forthcoming traffic circle.

"Most of these out-of-town travelers aren't going down Herritage Street, they're going down MLK and King Street, and they're seeing a Kinston that is very unattractive, and certainly not what most people would think of when they think of an All-America City," Albritton said.

The group's founders also hope to reach out to fellow gardeners in Greene and Jones County, and promote gardening, cooking and nutrition at a regional level.

Although all three counties have been designated by the state as Tier 1 rural, poverty-stricken counties, Albritton and Pridgen hope to build on that rural heritage through their program.

"We really want to celebrate our food and farming traditions in new and modern ways," he said.

Albritton added: "There's this growing concern that Christians have in taking care of God's creation and protecting our natural resources."