By Jill Bednas, Executive Assistant to the Rector
This year the Community Garden has a new cast: Three returning seasoned members and nine new members; some of whom only recently joined the church. This group of dedicated and thoughtful gardeners have done a fabulous job of planting, weeding, watering and harvesting our raised beds and brought them from boring to bountiful over the past 3 mos. The produce planted this year includes: Kale, beans, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, chard as well as an herb garden. The team is on target to deliver over 300 pounds of produce and herbs to the Matchen Nutrition Center in Pontiac.
The Matchen Nutrition Center is located in the heart of Pontiac and has been at that location for over 33 years. They serve hot, well balanced meals to the community and provide fresh vegetables and baked goods to take home.
Our role has expanded this year, since we are offering services outdoors, the Community Garden team has graciously offered to extend their time watering to include the 10 pots of flowers that adorn the tent and patio areas at the front of the church.
The community volunteers have kept our gardens growing and provided a bountiful feast of veggies for our partners in Pontiac to combat food scarcity. The garden team is not done, the garden continues to provide produce on a weekly basis and is expecting to continue for a few more weeks well into the Fall season.