Volunteers from JBG. Courtesy DC Greens.

It would not be surprising if, when visiting Ward 8’s THEARC, you don’t notice the nearby organic garden. But walk down a new flight of steps built into a hill, and you’ll see rows of plants that produce hundreds of pounds of food a year, an orchard, a hoop house and even a colony of bees.

Started by board members from the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus and run since 2013 by DC Greens — an organization that seeks to make fresh, healthy food accessible to everyone in D.C. — the garden is now in its fifth season. It doubles as a workforce development project, employing two people in the garden and two at a farm stand at the Ward 8 Farmers’ Market.

Marley is one of the men who works in the garden. Two years ago, he was homeless and getting his GED through Covenant House when he heard about the job opening. “When I came I had no prior experience with gardening,” Marley said. Since then, he’s become a certified master gardener through the University of the District of Columbia and plans to open his own home landscaping business to encourage “healthy food choices to families … and give them a better relationship with their food.”

Once a month, the garden hosts volunteer groups. Today they were from The JBG Companies, a real estate investor and developer responsible for the new building at 77 H Street NE and Louis at 14th and U streets NW. Involved as a corporate sponsor of DC Greens for years, JBG funded and facilitated several upgrades at the garden, including the timber steps, a fence and clean-up of a wooded area near a tributary. (They were assisted by Inside Out Services landscaping.) Kate Lee, DC Greens’ garden director, said the group helped plant a pollinator bed today that will allow for more production. Last year, the garden produced roughly 800 pounds of food, she said.

DC Greens executive director Lauren Shweder Biel credits the partnership with the company for helping expand the garden, making it a more welcoming space to the local community and allowing for more job creation. Shweder Biel said they plan to make the space a field trip spot for schools east of the Anacostia River. (The group already trains teachers to be garden educators and works with school gardens.) Another long-term plan includes making a connection with the health clinic inside THEARC so doctors can write prescriptions for healthy food through their Fruit and Vegetable Prescription program.

Volunteers are welcome Tuesdays from 2 p.m.to 4 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. Shweder Biel said they hope to have volunteer hours during the Ward 8 Farmers’ Market.