The Peace and Justice group at Christ Church, 2200 Bellevue Avenue, in Maplewood wanted to help the community. So three years ago they started growing vegetables to donate to the two Maplewood food pantries.
“We had space, we had sun, we had people who were inclined to garden, so it became a natural outgrowth of that,” church member, Jennifer Elam said.
The St. Vincent de Paul pantry at Immaculate Conception Church and the Salvation Army, on Rannells Avenue receive their produce. So far this spring, they’ve added 11 pounds of fresh produce to the St. Vincent DePaul pantry. They donate more delicate produce that the pantries can’t get from a grocery store.
They started with mustard greens, turnip greens, spinach, lettuce and kale in the spring. Now they’re finishing up that crop and planting summer plants – tomatoes, peppers cucumbers.
A grant of materials and labor from Gateway Greening has made this the best year yet. It also hooked them into some experienced help, including a Master Gardener from the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Member Jan Roddy said the grant helped them expand the beds, build a better soil base, add some tools, and build a compost bin.
She said they started growing in drywall buckets, and progressed to raised beds but weren’t happy with their yields. Gateway Greening is helping them do that.
“We’re learning as we go. We’re trying to figure the right plants for a small area that will give us a fair amount of volume,” Roddy said.
Thank you for sharing the Christ Church garden project with your readers. Fresh produce is a treat for area food banks. Thank you gardeners!