Community Food Pantry Garden Continues
Submitted ByJeanne Hollingsworth
(April 14): Johnny’s Selected Seeds Helps Make Food Panty Garden a Reality
Rob Johnston and his company, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, give 10% of their
profits to non-profit organizations promoting gardening. The Garden Institute
was
recently a beneficiary of this generosity with the donation of over $400 worth
of seeds to use in their second annual Food Pantry Garden. Board Members are
now moving ahead with planning the actual garden, and they have high hopes
that this generous donation will mean that they can produce even more fresh
food
for the area’s poor and elderly.
The concept behind the Food Pantry Garden is to re-introduce fresh and
healthy vegetables into the mix of food generously donated by local grocers and
suppliers, and to help make the best of a diet limited by chance. According to
volunteers who distribute the food, recipients are not used to seeing fresh
lettuce and other perishables in their weekly food packages, and the donations
were
a wonderful surprise. Garden volunteers say the grateful response of the
recipients reinforced their commitment to this year’s project, and they see the
donation from Johnny’s as a promising beginning encouraging a renewed effort to
help feed everyone who needs their help.
With this year’s generous supply of seeds the Institute can expand their
gardens and use even more of the land they have preserved for just this kind of
project. “The continued use of our gardens - by the community for the community
- is exactly what The Institute wants to accomplish”, said Jeanne
Hollingsworth, Board Coordinator of the Community Food Pantry Garden for the
upcoming
season. She added, “This gardening program is taking place in what many would
consider an urban environment. The Board firmly believes that once area
residents
visit the property they will realize the potential of this “Downtown Sanctuary”
, and will appreciate the importance of keeping it forever open space.”
According to Rob Lovell, President and Volunteer Coordinator, volunteers are
needed at every stage of this project. He noted that Garden Institute
project-commitment levels are designed so they “don’t scare folks away. The
Food
Pantry project’s success will depend entirely on the appearance of helping
hands
just when we need them most. If someone can come once or twice a summer to
plant or weed or harvest, we’ll take them and be happy to have their help.
However, if someone would like to take on more of a commitment, we sure won’t
turn
them away!”
Those who would like to help with planning the actual layout of the several
gardens met at The Institute’s greenhouses during March. Volunteers are now
starting and taking care of the seedlings that grown from the seeds that
Johnny’s
sent. According to Rob and Jeanne, anyone from experienced gardener to novice
is welcome to participate. Although Board members will be pleased to share
their gardening experience, everyone involved is eager to learn from each other
as well. Jeanne added: “One of the most rewarding things that has happened
recently is that children of long-time organic-gardeners are coming forward to
offer their help. This is a generation that has grown up with sustainability
central to their lives, and they have a great deal of practical experience to
share. Young parents are bringing their children to this place where they will
work together to grow healthy food not only for themselves, but for their
neighbors as well.” She and Rob both agreed that growing food for neighbors in
need
is a tradition that The Institute is determined to preserve.
Although the gardens are not certified “organic”, those practices are
followed. This summer volunteers can experiment with various components of
sustainable agriculture such as companion planting and inter-cropping as well
as
testing a variety of cover crops.
Join Jeanne at the Institute's Greenhouses on Thursdays at 11:00 - bring a
lunch and enjoy the company of gardeners working on a fine Community project.
Or
come by on Saturday mornings after 9 and see what other projects are underway
that may grab your interest
