HYDE COUNTY — What are community gardens?

They are a place for residents to access fresh produce, a place for people to give back to their neighbors, a place to foster a sense of community.

For low-income families, the elderly or the ill, these gardens can make all the difference in their daily lives and provide much-needed nutrition.

That’s the idea behind the Hyde County Community Gardens, located in Scranton and Engelhard.

Dennis Benston started Engelhard’s garden in 2012 in response to the food insecurity he saw in his area. Scranton’s community garden began in 2015 as a way to improve the health of diabetics or others with chronic diseases, according to information on the gardens’ SeedMoney campaign page.

“The Scranton Community Garden provides an average of 5+lbs of produce to over 100 community members on a regular basis. Not only has the garden provided nutrient-rich food to those who are gravely in need of it, it has also created a sense of community among its ethnically diverse residents by bringing them together for a common & worthy purpose,” the page reads.

Although the gardens were already in operation, Hyde County Health Department is now giving an extra boost to raise support for the gardens project — a boost headed up by Anna Schafer Motteler, public health educator.

“Aside from the man hours that go into tending to the gardens, the expenses for equipment, seeds, plants, etc., are landing primarily on the shoulders of those who are managing these gardens out of the kindness of their hearts and love for their community,” a statement on Facebook reads.

The community gardens and their partners are now seeking assistance from residents and/or organizations to cover the costs of future operation. An online campaign for funds ended in December, but organizers still need assistance.

“(Benston) would like to expand the current (Engelhard) garden to an additional half-acre in an effort to provide produce to 25-35 more needy and/or elderly Engelhard residents. Dennis’s largest challenge is lack of physical assistance during the growing season,” the SeedMoney page states. “Those who coordinate Scranton Community Garden efforts hope to gain the capacity to serve an additional 100 community members through increased funding for seeds & equipment.”

Hyde Health has been a longtime supporter for access to fresh and local produce, joining the Cooperative Extension, Food Bank of the Albemarle and Soil and Water Conservation in 2011 to create a similar community garden in Mattamuskeet, funded by a Kate B. Reynolds grant.

More recently, the Hyde County Farmers Market, also led by Motteler, debuted in May 2016, selling produce, arts and crafts, seafood and baked goods.

At Tuesday night’s Hyde County Board of Commissioners meeting, a report stated that funding from Partnerships to Improve Community Health for the Farmers Market was expended, thus eliminating compensation for the market manager position.

Despite this setback, organizers are still planning to move forward and are in talks to set up a winter market.

For information on how to support these initiatives, call Anna Schafer Motteler at 252-926-4381.