About Kula Cafe & Garden:
Located in Asbury Park, Kula Cafe began as an initiative to decrease the unemployment rate in the community. They do this by providing training to unemployed individuals, while also offering pay. Their garden and greenhouse are located on the same property, and provide food to the cafe and neighboring restaurants. The garden is extremely beneficial to the community, because it offers produce to the public and to businesses, brings the neighborhood together, localizes where their food comes from, and brightens the community with the beautiful plants. This is their first growing season.
Goals:
The garden has three main goals; to run a viable business, to create jobs, and to provide food to the community. They also hope to localize the food industry within the community. They hope to engage the community, and are especially involved with schools in the area. They are aiming for a farm-to-school program, and an educational after school group.
Organization:
The garden has 2 managers, occasional volunteers, and season employment opportunities. On Saturdays, the produce that is grown in a certain section of the garden is given away to the public. Their greenhouse is entirely hydroponic and is resistant to hurricane winds.
Funding:
Kula Cafe’s Garden is a project of Interfaith Neighbors, and is funded entirely by grants. Interfaith has been involved in Asbury for nearly 25 years, with projects such as affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization.
Harvest:
Hydroponic systems work best with high-turnover crops that grow rapidly. They focus on growing leafy greens such as micro-greens, salad mixes, mustard greens, arugula, etc.
