The Edwardsburg Food Pantry has officially begun planting its community garden.
The garden, which the Edwardsburg Food Pantry has been planning since winter 2016, started planting Thursday, May 25. The 125-by-125 foot garden will be staffed by the Edwardsburg Food Pantry to provide fresh produce for the organization to give to families in need.
The garden is located behind the Edwardsburg Seventh Day Adventist Church. The church is providing the land to the food pantry and partnering with them on the community garden project.
“Without the Seventh Day Adventists, we would still be talking about this, rather than doing it,” said community garden project organizer Stan Mason.
Mason, who is on the staff at the food pantry, came up with the idea to bring a community garden to Edwardsburg after reading literature and doing research about community gardens in cities like Detroit and Chicago.
Edwardsburg’s community garden will differ from many in bigger cities, because as opposed to providing small plots of land for community members to grow their own fruits and vegetables, the garden will be run by the food pantry. Ultimately, the garden is projected to be a money-saving measure for the food pantry, as buying fresh produce to stock the pantry with is not as cost-effective as growing it for themselves will be.
While the garden will likely save money for the food pantry, the true goal is provide food for those in need, Mason said.
“We are really trying to get more nutrition to some of the people who have food insecurities here in Edwardsburg,” Mason said, “This will hopefully go a long way to making a more wholesome environment.”
Mason hopes to continue planting throughout the month of June.
Long term, those involved in the community garden hope to expand the project to reach more families in need, said Kerry Frazier, who is heading up the agricultural aspect to the project.
A member of Edwardsburg Seventh Day Adventist Church, Frazier has degrees in horticulture, agriculture and international community development. He has extensive experience setting up similar community gardens across the country.
“This is what I do,” Frazier said. “I help communities set up community gardens so those in need and those in poverty situations can have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.”
Eventually, Frazier hopes to take the food pantry’s community garden to the “next level,” by creating satellite gardens in low-income areas such as trailer parks, and providing cooking classes, so that those in need in Edwardsburg can prepare healthy meals for their families.
While these big plans may be part of the project’s overall vision, the goal for right now is make sure the garden is successful and well maintained, Mason said.
“Depending on the response and support we get from the community, we are hoping we can evolve this into something bigger,” Mason said. “This is just the first step of a 1,000-mile journey.”
Currently, the community garden project is looking for more volunteers. Volunteers would be trained in how to care for the garden and how to use the tools necessary for planting and maintenance.
The project can use as many volunteers and donations as it can get, Mason said.
“We are very fortunate that Edwardsburg is a very generous community,” Mason said. “There’s great satisfaction in volunteering and knowing that you are working unselfishly to help others.”
For more information or to volunteer with the community garden, call Stan Mason at (269) 228-0096.