Sunday, June 02, 2013

Planting to Fight Hunger


Canned food drives are so yesterday. While still an important tool for feeding the hungry, many churches are also looking at their land and their members to get more people involved and find more ways to put food on the tables of those less fortunate.   The organic church garden may well be the new food bank of the twenty-first century. 
In 2011, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in North Bellmore, New York transformed an unused 50X100 piece of property into an organic farm.  The Garden at St. Mark’s has since harvested and donated thousands of pounds of fresh organic produce to the Long Island Council of Churches food pantry in Freeport, New York. 
Recently, St. Mark’s kicked off its third growing season, and many members, friends and volunteers rolled up their sleeves to tend to the garden. You can read more about the effort at my post for Edible Long Island.  
Through the connection of soil and spirit, the Garden at St. Mark’s aims to harvest heavenly vegetables and nurture a community of healthy bodies, big hearts, open arms and achy muscles.
©2013 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

10 comments:

Axelle the french cook said...

This is a very good initiative, I think. And mist of all, to vest children too in this kind of new way of living and being is the best thing we can do. They are the future.
Thank you for sharing.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Projects like this warm my heart. Thanks so much for sharing the story.

Kat said...

A much healthier way to feed the hungry.

Laura Luciano said...

How amazing would it be if people used more of their own properties as a possible place for their own or community food source. Great initiative on giving.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

What a fantastic idea and a wonderful way to promote good health and eat well at the same time. I hope more churches will do this.

I'm with Kat. A much healthier way to feed the hungry.
Sam

Deana Sidney said...

BRAVO! Good for them to make good use of land. The church I went to as a child had acres of lawn that is good for nothing but polluting the air with constant mowing. Brilliant to use it for good and to grow decent food to give those less fortunate and not the endless cans of mandarin oranges and gray green beans people don't want. Not much choice in winter but in summer best to go this way. Thanks for the great story.

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

What a worthwhile project that I know all the recipients will enjoy tremendously.

Gloria Baker said...

I love this and how all are working! Nice post!

Barbara said...

Wonderful, what St. Marks is doing. Nice to get families together to do the gardening, too. A learning experience along with the all important lesson: helping those in need.

Anonymous said...

Such a great & inspiring post, my friend! x
Great pics too!