XENIA, OH— The Community Roots coalition is embarking on the second year of maintaining a community garden near the east end of Xenia. Increased food security is the focus of the garden and requires continued emphasis on building community involvement and participation. On Tuesday, May 14th, 2019, the Community Roots coalition will host a Planting Day at the community garden in Lexington Park, located at 1067 Lexington Ave in Xenia. The event will be held from 3:00 – 5:00pm and is open to the community. In the event of inclement weather, a rain date is set for Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019 from 3:00 – 5:00pm. The Community Roots coalition is comprised of members from Greene County Public Health, the City of Xenia, Central State University Extension, and the Ohio State University Extension Greene County. The goal of the coalition is to promote healthy lifestyles across Greene County. A critical barrier to a healthy lifestyle in any community is food insecurity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life. The community garden at Lexington Park provides shared, communal gardening space along with scheduled program days for those interested in learning about gardening, nutrition, and sustainability. The garden and program days are provided FREE to the community thanks to the coalition partners. Program days are scheduled for Wednesday, May 29th and Tuesday, June 11th from 4:00 – 5:00pm at the garden. For more information on the Community Roots coalition, or the community garden at Lexington Park, please contact Ashley Steveley at Greene County Public Health, 937-374-5624 or by email at asteveley@gcph.info.