Groups Join Forces To Address Local Food Insecurity; Children Learn Valuable Lessons in the Process

by Julie Cordingley

All little hands-on deck… We are heading out to the garden…

... to reap the hard work of Morning Star (mstar) Church’s school children and their adult helpers.

Despite a dry, hot summer, an incredible 450+lbs. of fresh vegetables were harvested for Boyertown Multi Service. It was an impressive haul and Jackie Ruby, the garden’s “go to person,” could not be happier. “For a first year, it was great. But next year will be so much better. We are already looking forward to it! “

The garden, aptly named Tiny Hands Community Garden, is a sunny collaboration between Morning Star, located in Bechtelsville, and Boyertown Multi Service’s Preston Pantry. As Diana Harner, Director of Case Management at Multi Service explains, “We have been working with the youth ministry to create a garden space to grow fresh produce for our community. With rising prices in stores, our pantry clientele continues to grow. This garden will allow us to serve more healthy and fresh options.”

And with a willing "go ahead" from church council, it was nothing but momentum. Sponsors such as Wendy’s, Montco Fence, Frecon Farms, are just some of the many who brought their talents to help create a garden from scratch on the church’s massive grass fields. Combining their expertise with the infectious spirit of church schoolteachers, parents, and the sweat equity of an enthusiastic work force of more than 100 children, the garden was meant to succeed! As proud grandmother Jill Yablon says of Anastasia Leister, “I am here with my granddaughter, wearing our matching shirts. I came to support her.”

Each child was given the assignment to plant at least six seedlings, whether they be squash, tomatoes, zucchini, or corn, into the colorful boxed cultivated beds. Some of the children needed a bit of help but not to worry! There were plenty of people to instruct where to plant, how big a hole, the correct amount of dirt coverage. Okay? Repeat! Ruby, as well as her husband, oversaw the plantings; she and her husband were seemingly everywhere, perhaps due to their vested interest! “You have to remember, we lived with those seedlings for months!”

In addition to the planting, perhaps as a way to make the work more mindful, the older teens all the way down to preschool toddlers, were asked to think of things for which they are thankful. And with those thoughts in mind, the “bigs” helped the “littles” write them on plastic ribbons that would eventually be strung through the fencing of the garden. Not only were the streamers pretty in the wind, but also a means to keep critters away.

As the messages were being tied to the fencing, Jackie Ruby along with the church school teachers, made sure that the significance of the children’s hard work was also being reinforced and celebrated. Looking over the garden, Ruby summed it up this way: “Expose the kids so they know who we are as a church. This is what we do; that service is a way of life . It is my hope that in six weeks I can say to them that they gave a couple hours but look at what you did!

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