Lainise Kelly (pictured) and her sister, Taley, aim to not only grow food for their hilltop community, but also provide opportunities for education and economic development. Photo courtesy of SOIL SISTERS
For Rainys Kelly, food is just the beginning.
Rainis and her sister, Tareigh Kelly, are the brains and horticultural talent behind Soil Sisters, a botanical garden on Beltzhuber Avenue in Allentown that provides not only herbs and vegetables but also education and economic development for the community.
“It's really nice to be able to keep this space as a family and keep it active,” said Rainis, 35, a graduate of Bidwell Training Center's horticulture program and a full-time learning horticulture educator with Grow Pittsburgh, who also runs community meetings about for-profit food access.
Soil Sisters began as a pop-up store about five years ago, moving into a brick-and-mortar space three years ago. In addition to selling plants and seedlings that the sisters grow on-site, the store also hosts workshops teaching people how to grow food and protect it from the region's unpredictable winters.
Photo courtesy of SOIL SISTERS
Reinis said the idea came to her while she was preparing a meal for her daughter.
“I started to realize that I wasn't getting access to fresh food,” she says. “The idea of having a community garden or a home garden was something no one in my generation was really thinking about.”
Talley has been listening: She works as a groundskeeper at the University of Pittsburgh, serves on the board of directors for Grow Pittsburgh, and, along with Rainis, is a member of Black Urban Gardeners and the PA Farmers Union.
“My sister is a really brave person. She was like, 'OK, do whatever you want to do,'” Reinis says.
Soil Sisters is one of many Hilltop businesses receiving assistance from the Hilltop Alliance, a nonprofit that aims to “fill vacant storefronts and create a vibrant business district,” according to Economic Development Director Meg O'Brien.
But while the coalition offers grants, rent abatement programs and marketing training to up-and-coming local business owners, O'Brien says it's local residents like the Kelly sisters who are doing the real work on the ground. And that work, she says, is badly needed.
Photo courtesy of SOIL SISTERS
The area around East Carson Street, Southside Flats' main drag, is well-connected and often overcrowded, but beyond that is the Hilltop, a collection of 11 neighborhoods where, for many residents, the nearest grocery store is two bus rides away.
“The neighborhoods around Hilltop are isolated in food deserts,” said Layne McCoy, communications coordinator for the Hilltop Alliance. “Each of the 11 neighborhoods has its own identity and history, but they share many common struggles.”
A food desert is an urban area with little or no access to fresh, healthy, quality food. Hilltop neighborhoods (Allentown, Arlington, Arlington Heights, Beltzhuber, Bon Air, Carrick, Knoxville, Mount Washington, Mount Oliver City, Mount Oliverboro, Southside Slopes, and St. Clair) have some of the best views of Pittsburgh because of their hilltop location, but they don't have access to grocery stores.
Soil Sisters hopes to fill that gap. Rainiece and Talley are Hilltop natives, born and raised in the community their nursery serves. They plan to purchase four vacant parcels around their property to develop an urban farm where they will grow and sell crops ranging from leafy greens like kale, collards, lettuce and arugula to warm-season staples like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and zucchini.
They are also building a greenhouse off Gearing Street on the land where their grandparents' house used to be before it was destroyed by fire in 2010. They have already done the foundations and the majority of the structural work is complete.
Once the urban farm is up and running (which may take two to three years, Reinis says, but it'll be well worth the wait), they hope to expand the operation, providing its own market and paying jobs for local workers.
“I think some of the people who are struggling to get food also have a hard time getting a job,” Reinis said, “so that's one of the goals – to establish an economy in the community and be able to provide some economic stability in exchange for working on the farm.”
“We're really excited about the direction of the business,” she says. “There's a lot to come.”
