Yesterday began with a long list
And a few hardy souls.
It was the first spring clean up day
At Faith Farm.
Over the winter two of my passions collided.
Feeding hungry people and gardening.
Hope Outreach, another local non-profit
Had built a wonderful garden about 8 years ago.
Recently they decided that they needed to find someone else to operate it.
Fortunately, that word got to Loaves & Fishes
And as of the 1st of the year
Faith Farm became a production and teaching garden of Loaves & Fishes.
Imagine a place where we can grow vegetables
Pick them in the morning
And give them to pantry clients in the afternoon.
Fresh organic produce in the hands and tummies
Of those least likely to get have access to fresh organic produce.
You gotta love a deal like that!
But remember we run Loaves & Fishes on a shoestring
With 99% volunteers.
Faith Farm will be the same
One paid employee
A passionate, knowledgable gardener named Charity
And lots of volunteers.
But where will they come from
We had maybe four people who worked the beds at L & F last year
But we need legions of volunteers to pull this one off.
So it was yesterday morning that we planned our first volunteer work day.
We spread the word and hoped for 10 maybe 12 people.
Bit by bit we stumbled into the crisp morning air.
And began to attack Charity’s very ambitious list.
People kept showing up.
Mostly middle school kids.
4 – H boys
honor society members & cheerleaders
grandchildren
kids
21 in all
We chatted and worked and experienced new things.
A few early spears of asparagus right out of the ground
Made a first time fun mid morning snack.
The sun and the sight of it all warmed my heart.
We are meeting our mission from the beginning.
Growing healthy vegetables and showing others how to do the same.
Then there’s the added joy of community.
Bringing all kinds of people to a new place
Having fun, learning
And helping others.
Saturdays don’t get much better than that!
Gail
Your next chance to help at Faith Farm and Loaves & Fishes is Saturday April 12 during Family Volunteer Day.
Sign up by April 2nd and you’ll get a free t-shirt and lunch courtesy of the sponsor 1st Presbyterian Church.
Call 580-540-9830 to join in the fun. Or message Jennifer on our Facebook page Loaves & Fishes – NW Oklahoma
In My Garden 