Preparing To Share

I'm so excited.

Today is the first meeting of the season for the 'Growing In The Son' garden project at church. 

Yay!

Last year was our first year working on the project and oy was it a tough year.  I'm thinking we went for a month or better without rain and had issues with deer and other vermin, but we still managed to grow several hundred pounds of food for the Second Harvest pantry and Outreach center as well as the elderly and low income in our community. 

The biggest issue we ran into last year was food distribution. 

Second Harvest could use very little of what we grew.  They simply didn't have the time and labor available to clean, string, core, dice, cook the food we grew.  They needed food ready to be eaten to best serve their clientele. 

The Outreach center could use very little of what we grew.  They deal with families who are desperate, who are homeless or living in shelters/hotels, who often don't have access to a kitchen or the utilities to cook fresh produce.  They scarfed up the tomatoes and peppers because the tomatoes and peppers could be eaten raw, but had little use for corn or green beans.

While the elderly knew what to do with fresh beans and corn, many of the younger families had no idea how to prepare fresh veggies.  They had kitchens, they had utilities;  they didn't have the knowledge of what to do with a pound of green beans or a bag full of corn on the cob.  It was a sad reflection on the state of our culture as well as a huge waste of food. 

This year, we're going to try a different route. 

Upon doing some research, I learned that the greatest time of need for underprivileged families is in summertime; when there are no free breakfasts or lunches for school children; when we don't feel the Christmastime tugs at our heart to donate food to various charities. 

I learned that in my community, 30% of the children are living at or under poverty level.  30%!!!  That astounds me.  1 in 3 children.  Doesn't that amaze you?

And I also learned the the majority of the people coming in to the local pantries and soup kitchens are children.  It's not homeless, drug-addicted alcoholics.  It's families with young children.  And last year, according to the information at Feedingamerica.org, need was way, way up and donations were way, way down. 

You can see what's driving me.

Children in my community are going without. 

And 30 years ago, I was one of those kids. 

My mom worked her fingers to the bone to provide for us, with no support from my deadbeat dad.  We lived at poverty level, with barely enough cash flow to make it month by month, but we never went hungry.  Never.  And it's because we had knowledge to garden and preserve that food.  What a blessing!

This year, I'm going to pitch the idea that we adopt local families for the season. 

We can't do much about homelessness. 

We can't do much about families living in shelters or hotels. 

We CAN feed families on the brink; the ones who have to choose between fresh food and paying the electric bill; those who have to choose between food and rent. 

And possibly, by dealing with these families directly on a weekly basis, we'll be able to establish a relationship and teach them what to do with those fresh veggies. 

And possibly, through involvement with our community garden, we may be able to teach these young families how to grow their own food in their own garden. 

And possibly, if we can get the children involved, we can stop the cycle of hunger through knowledge.  It's that whole 'give a man a fish, teach a man to fish' thing.  Maybe we can teach these children to "fish"?

And possibly, hopefully, through this project, eyes, minds and hearts may be opened to Christ.  Or as my dear pastor put it: "someone is going to be saved because of this garden!" 

There's a good deal of hope hanging on this garden project.