This Metro East teacher spent nearly $2K and countless hours building community garden

WASHINGTON PARK — Derissa Davis' energy seemed to know no bounds on Saturday as she pursued her community's vision of turning an abandoned lot into a vegetable garden that will serve families in the surrounding food desert.
"Everything we grow, we'll give away," said Davis, a fourth grade reading teacher at James Avant Elementary School.
The idea for the Tiny Children's Garden started with a group of third graders who sent letters to the village mayor describing what they'd like to see change about their community, and the idea for a community garden popped up.
Parts of Washington Park are in a food desert, meaning the village has a high number of households without vehicles or nearby access to a grocery store. In the village's western section, nearly 23% of households don't have a vehicle and live more than a mile from a supermarket. Much of the surrounding East St. Louis-area also qualifies as a food desert, according to the federal government's definitions.

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