Amigos Garden flourishing in West El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- It may be the middle of winter, but a local westside community garden is nice and green, with rows of beets, carrots and kale.

The Amigos Garden flourishes thanks to volunteers like Bill Hooten. We caught up with him as he was dumping kitchen scraps from the nearby Mustard Seed Cafe into a compost bin. Some of those kitchen scraps, coming full circle, having originated in the garden. Now, they'll help provide the next round of meals.

The non-profit, donation based cafe depends on the Amigos Garden for about 70% of its salad bar. To meet the demand, the garden growing crops 12 months a year. It's known mostly for green, leafy veggies and peppers, tomatoes, squash and corn in the summer. Mustard Seed Cafe director Carmen Estrada says it's a treat to have fresh produce, and is grateful to Hooten and all of the volunteers. After, all the cafe serves everyone who walks in the door free of charge.

But the garden provides more than food - it's a learning place for old and young alike. Volunteers are always welcome to come pitch in, whether they have gardening experience or not. It's also a field trip destination for local schools. Clarissa Parra started volunteering years ago because she wanted to learn more about gardening. Now, thanks to a grant, she's an employee, and gives cooking demonstrations and tours. She enjoys showing people where their food comes from, and teaching them to become green thumbs themselves.

This coming year, Hooten will also incorporate workshops on how to grow microgreens, which are up to 40 percent more nutritious than vegetables, and can be easily added to soups, salads and smoothies.

There's always work that needs to be done in the Amigos Garden, and donations are welcome! For more information visit mustardseedcafe.org