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E. Cle residents frustrated over "hoop houses"

Posted at 8:42 PM, May 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-10 12:11:42-04

East Cleveland residents are expressing frustration about the lack of progress made with makeshift greenhouses in their neighborhoods called "hoop houses."

“I just see a big thing of plastic," said Lavelle Hodges, an East Cleveland resident. "I don’t see no vegetables or nothing, and we had some pretty nice days.”

“Some of them blow down," said James Story, an East Cleveland resident. "They tear up, they haven’t done anything for the neighborhood.”

There are at least a half dozen hoop houses in East Cleveland and more in the Cleveland area. They are supposed to be used to grow produce for the neighborhoods. The construction is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those who operate the largest hoop houses get reimbursed nearly $10,000 for the construction.

"Give them a chance," said Al Norwood, urban conservationist for the USDA. "They are basically working on getting raised beds to go in there."

Norwood oversees the hoop house program in the Cleveland area. He said the structures can be used to grow produce year-round if the operator chooses to do so.

Some of East Cleveland's hoop houses, including the ones by Hodges and Story's homes, went up last fall. Another set was constructed two years ago. But Norwood said those are no longer operational because the regional sewer district is claiming the land to install sewer lines.

"We're trying to provide a source where people can get local food," added Norwood.

Special Socials for Senior Services, a non-profit out of Euclid, acts as the fiscal agent for the hoop houses in East Cleveland. Its executive director said individuals in the area receive the federal funding to operate them.

Dawyane Johnson, one of the leaders of the United Community Co-Op, an approved USDA vendor for hoop house construction, said there will be produce in the East Cleveland hoop houses by June or July. But he did not agree to an interview.

"We have to do more follow up on them [hoop houses]," said Norwood when asked how residents can be assured that the program is working.

Norwood said the USDA does annual visits to hoop houses to ensure they are operating as intended.