The Giving Garden at Yorkminster Presbyterian

Are you looking to feed the hungry by involving members of your church in a hands-on project?  Does your church have a little plot of grass that requires mowing and watering but serves no real purpose?  Let me share with you an inspiring story from Yorkminster...

In 2006, while co-pastor at Yorkminster Presbyterian Church, Jenny Russell and a small group of church members approached the Session about using the vacant field near the Fellowship Center to plant vegetables to give to low income families on the peninsula.  Jenny contacted LINK (Living Interfaith Network) in Newport News, to ask the director if there was a need for fresh vegetables.  The director, Lynne Finding, was thrilled at the prospect, and the YPC Giving Garden was born. 

Years one and two were filled with the hard work of turning very poor soil into  a productive garden, with load after load of compost spread and tilled in.  The first year's harvest was not worth mentioning, and the second year saw slightly better results, most of them consumed by local deer, geese, crows, and other varmints.  Year three has been amazing thus far!  Under the watchful eye of "the king of gardeners" Russ McMillen, we have been able to deliver several hundred bags (well over a thousand pounds) of vegetables to LINK and the Peninsula Food Bank.  Individuals and groups volunteer to pick and deliver the produce 2-3 days a week. 

We plant lettuce, spinach, collards, mustard greens, asparagus, onions, radishes, yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, okra, radishes, five varieties of tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, and two kinds of green beans.  We have tried to use "biologically sustainable" methods (synthetic pest control only when absolutely necessary).  The garden provides fresh food to people who often cannot afford to buy it.  It has been particularly helpful to a number of veterans  with diabetes, who cannot eat canned vegetables because of the high sodium content.  Best of all, it allows us to fulfill Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25:  "I was hungry and you gave me food..."  in a  physical and personal way.  The Giving Garden has given us far more than it has required!