Sharing the earth’s bounty
The Catholic Charities community garden in Winston-Salem is run entirely by volunteers. WINSTON-SALEM — Every Wednesday, Maureen Irwin picks, washes and packs nutrient-rich produce from the garden she so carefully tends on the Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte property near downtown Winston-Salem.
Paired with the Catholic Charities food pantry, the effort feeds 60 to 80 families each week. Irwin, a volunteer who runs the garden, sets up a table each Thursday with the food pantry coordinator. The clients, some of whom live close enough to walk to the garden, then peruse the selection.
“It’s really a good location for them. There are specific clients of Catholic Charities who come, and they get the things from the pantry but then also the fresh foods from the garden,” Irwin says. “We try to give clients their choices because some people love beets and some people hate beets, so we don’t just put them in their cart whether they want them or not.”
ON THE GROW
The 1,440-square-foot garden was established in 2018 and features 10 beds that grow foods such as lettuce, spinach, kale, tomatoes, peppers, peas, beets, onions, carrots, eggplant, watermelon, beans and okra.
“People go crazy over the tomatoes and peppers, especially,” Irwin says with a smile. “I love being outside and taking advantage of everything that nature has to offer. I also love providing fresh, good food for people whose options are limited.”
So far this season, the garden has produced 190 pounds of food with more expected. The 2022 growing season yielded more than 350 pounds.
Irwin, who has tended successful backyard gardens for many years, has the help of about 10 volunteers who help plant, water, harvest and provide for other needs such as an irrigation system that solved the problem of needing a 200-foot hose to reach the garden.
The system, developed by volunteer Carl Westcott, doesn’t go directly to the garden, however. Instead, they installed a tank that’s fed by rainwater and condensation from the air conditioner. Its motor and pump get the water where it needs to go.
“Now, we mostly use God’s water as opposed to city water, and that was a huge help,” Irwin says.
The garden also offers educational opportunities for local students. Middle schoolers have visited to learn about topics such as crop rotation and soil testing. The garden, which is registered with the state extension service, has been a learning experience for Irwin too.
She notes that she learns new things every year and that the extension service’s free courses for community gardeners were very helpful in developing the space and building the pollinator garden.
Elsa and Hernan Sabio have been volunteering at the food pantry for the past 10 years and at the garden since its inception. Elsa waters and Hernan repairs items such as the hoses and trellis. They note that the team’s work in the garden has inspired clients to volunteer, too.
“We were aware that some of the population that we serve in the food pantry may not have access to the more naturally grown foods, so we thought if something can be grown and be made available fresh too, that would be great,” Hernan says. “That was the seed of how it got started, and it made a lot of sense to us.”
Elsa adds, “It’s a good way of providing food to those who need it, but it’s more than just the produce. It’s from our garden. We have put our love into growing it. We give it to them, and they really appreciate it. They say, ‘Oh, this is from your garden!’”
As the regional director of Catholic Charities in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, Glynis Bell adds, “We are grateful to Maureen and her garden team for making it possible for our participants to enjoy a variety of nutritious veggies they normally wouldn’t have. This has been a great addition to our already extensive outreach program.”
A NEW GARDEN CROPS UP
Program participants enjoy freshly bagged produce at the Catholic Charities community garden in Asheville. (Photo provided by Kristen Pollock)In 2020, the Catholic Charities office in Asheville started a similar garden when the pandemic interrupted regular work.
Because he couldn’t meet with clients at the time, Scott Meltsner – the office’s bilingual clinical mental health counselor – decided to start a garden to help staff members, clients, and program participants handle the stress of a difficult year.
“I was bringing in some of the produce from my home garden and having people really like it, so I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t that be a great thing for us to have here?’ Meltsner recalls. “Somewhere we can just grow the food at the office and give it away while getting our clients involved in some way.”
Jesse Boeckermann, western regional director for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, agreed.
“Working with the earth has great therapeutic benefits,” he says. “It also allows us to distribute fresh and healthy food to 40 to 45 families during our food pantry each Wednesday.”
Now the 150-square-foot garden is in its third season, and Kristen Pollock – AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and impact coordinator for Catholic Charities – oversees the project while other staff members contribute as they can.
“I never tire of the miracle of putting one small seed in the dirt and watching it turn into pounds of food to eat,” Pollock says.
This year’s crop includes tomatoes, peppers, beans, okra, cucumbers, gourds, and a few flowers.
“I’m thankful to be part of an organization that is willing to use resources to grow healthy food and distribute local produce to local people,” says Pollock. “That is a value of many in and around Asheville, and it’s great to be a part of it.”
Nearby businesses have been very supportive, offering volunteers to help with the gardening.
Boeckermann adds, “We’d love to expand this project to grow more food and help more people in need.”
— Annie Ferguson