Gardens are already dotted across the nationally renowned Community First! Village in Far East Austin. Residents and volunteers have set up several patches of land and translucent tents for growing vegetables and other plants, but a new wood-framed greenhouse is now the centerpiece of a once-empty slab of concrete and grass.
This village, supported by Mobile Loaves and Fishes, has drawn studious eyes as a smart, organic way to provide stable housing to residents who were chronically homeless — a technical definition that describes long or recurring episodes combined with disability. Residents pay rent for the private tiny homes and RVs, but that rate is dramatically lower than most of Austin. And one way they can make money is working around the compound, including in the new greenhouse.
Photo by Brianna Caleri
Homelessness advocacy organization HomeAid Austin and home-building company Taylor Morrison took the lead on this project, which was originally intended as a beautification effort in the empty space behind a block of residences and a dog park. HomeAid has built 35 houses in the community so far. Mobile Loaves and Fishes currently has more than 500 houses built. It plans to build 1,400 more over multiple phases of growth, eventually housing 1,900 people.
On March 22, Yoderbilt Greenhouses delivered the 12-by-23-foot greenhouse from Arkansas in one piece for a total of about $17,000. Of that, $6,000 came from Taylor Morrison. Organizers had considered purchasing a kit, but there's already plenty of work to be done around the compound. (At the same time that volunteers were working on the greenhouse area, another group was painting a mural in the parking lot.)
Volunteers from HomeAid and Taylor Morrison — plus other interested Austinites — added gravel as ground cover next to the greenhouse, dug out and arranged stones around a rain garden, and got some plants started inside. Next on the to-do list is installing a ramp so that residents with mobility aids can easily enter, installing a ceiling fan (even on a breezy spring day, it felt like summer under the plastic roof), and putting a lot more plants inside.
Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
A staff member at Mobile Loaves and Fishes will oversee the greenhouse and make sure the plants that start there find useful homes around the compound. A casual stroll around turns up many places they might end up, from the various community buildings to the other gardens that leave more mature plants exposed to the elements.
"We've built five tiny homes over the last four or five years, and we'll do more out here in '25 and beyond, as long as we can while there's opportunity," says Taylor Morrison Austin division president April Whitaker, who was onsite helping with the installation. "Getting to come out here and make an impact for folks that really need our time and resources is just something that's very meaningful to our team beyond the work we do Monday through Friday. "
Whitaker suggests that other groups interested in volunteering — including schools and churches — take a look at the Mobile Loaves and Fishes website. She specifically mentions meal deliveries that end in a communal buffet.
"It's limitless, and it's growing," says Whitaker. "They're in growth mode. So that's even creating more opportunity. [It] is neat to see people from all over the community want to engage in whatever way they can."
Among those visitors will be local students, says a press release. They'll learn about growing plants and maintaining the garden center while practicing by lending a hand.
The Community First! Village is always welcoming volunteers for special projects and recurring community events. More information about the community is available at mlf.org.
