Garden poised to
grow
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| Beware, Charlestown vampires - the garlic is coming up! |
By
Will Collette
In
a quiet and noncontroversial way, the Charlestown Town Council approved the
transformation of the Charlestown Community Garden from being a
quasi-municipal program to becoming a part of the network of services run by
the non-profit Southern Rhode Island Volunteers (SRIV). The measure was
included in the Council’s “consent agenda” for April 14 and was approved
unanimously without discussion or debate.
The
Garden was started in spring 2011 in Ninigret Park and has been producing up to
3,000 pound of fresh vegetables and fruit each year. That produce is
distributed among local food panties and programs including SRIV’s senior meals
program.
SRIV
Director Deb Tanner said “SRIV is already
delivering meals on wheels and food from local food pantries to elders,
disabled adults, and families in need. SRIV also provides rides for
senior citizens to RICAN and the Jonnycake Center food pantries to pick up
food. The garden’s purpose just fits our mission of service to our
neighbors in need across Washington County.”
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| Earth Care Farm compost |
Garden
manager Susie Fehrman noted, “All of the
food grown in the garden is donated to those in need: The Jonnycake Center of Westerly, The Warm
Shelter, The Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center, Meals on Wheels, the senior lunch
program at the Charlestown Senior/Community Center, and local families that
have indicated they are in need. We look
forward to expanding our contributions to these organizations and to others in
need… SRIV offers the support necessary for us to move to the next level.
“Our affiliation
with a 501c(3) organization allows us to be eligible for more grants and the
grant–writing talents of the SRIV organization; it puts more of the
administrative tasks on the SRIV organization so we can do what we do best:
grow vegetables; and it puts a host of support services at our disposal. We are
grateful to the Town of Charlestown, especially the Parks and Rec Department,
for their past support and encouragement. However, we are ready to take the
next leap and look forward to working closely with Deb Tanner and the SRIV
crew.”
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| Adding some lime |
Deb
Tanner added that “SRIV also takes a
great deal of pleasure in providing meaningful service opportunities for our
volunteer members across the county. Certainly feeding our hungry
neighbors is substantially meaningful. The garden produces about 3,000
pounds of food in a growing season. The fresh produce is vital to a
nutritionally balanced diet. We have neighbors in need. We have
neighbors who want to help meet that need. Bottom line is that SRIV is
about people in service, enjoying and benefiting from providing whatever that
service may be and people in need receiving help. This was one of the
easiest collaborations ever.”
Both
Deb and Susie emphasize the classic challenges nearly every non-profit
organization faces – the need to raise money and to recruit volunteers to not
only keep things going, but to grow and improve.
Susie notes that the Garden
will need to carefully document volunteer hours and actual production since these
data will be important elements in grant applications.
I
think they already are well on the way to having a good recording system. Click here to see a
breakdown of their recent production figures (and note the impressive amount of
eggplant they grow).
Deb
and Susie are already looking toward future growth. In addition to the core
Garden program, there’s the new May 3rd recycling day being held at
the Charlestown Police Station. The Garden hopes to add a second day of
festivities to its Harvest Festival. Deb is hoping that “maybe someday we’ll have a greenhouse somewhere in Charlestown, and
maybe educational programs we can present to our children.”
She
added, “I think we’re only limited by our
vision, our willingness to work together, and our determination to eliminate
hunger!”
Of
course, work on this year’s crop has already started. Susie Fehrman reports: “So far
this year we have spread lime, and 3 truckloads of compost from Earth Care Farm
[at 89 Country Drive in the northern end of Charlestown] - compliments of the
community support at the Harvest Festival. Garlic planted last fall is
up. Ground should be plowed this week - with a little luck.”
Anyone
interested in exploring the garden as a volunteer should drop by on Tuesday or
Thursday morning or contact SRIV at 552-7661 for more information. Folks do
need to complete a brief orientation (about 15/20 minutes of their time).
SRIV conducts criminal background
checks on all volunteers because they work with vulnerable
populations. Anyone needing food should contact Michelle Vekakis at the
Charlestown Community Center. All such calls will be kept confidential.