Three different East Texas communities have taken to heart the Gospel mandate to feed the hungry by growing community gardens. St. Therese Parish in Canton and Jacksonville’s Our Lady of Sorrows Parish have created onsite gardens cared for by parishioners, while in Mount Pleasant, an ecumenical effort at a local community college campus falls under the umbrella of a countywide program.
The goal is to offer food pantry recipients fresh produce and provide more nutritional meals because fresh vegetables aren’t always available to them, said Father Mark Kusmirek, administrator of the Jacksonville church.
“But (gardening) takes a lot of patience, it doesn’t happen overnight. What we see in the grocery store is the end of a long period of work, preparation, failure, success… it’s only the end product that we see.”
Still, the effort is one that meets with strong support.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Gordon Nelms, a board member of Titus County Cares, founded in 2005 by the local ministerial alliance to meet the needs of struggling families.
Collectively, these gardens have yielded peas, cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons, corn, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, green beans, collards and onions in the different plots.
Nelms said that because TCC is working in conjunction with the agriculture department at North Texas Community College, staff and faculty have been a priceless resource for the one-acre project.
“The college has got the know-how and technology, so they help with that part of the project,” he said. “There are also some master gardeners who work with us, who advise about planting and such – it’s a whole-community involvement thing.”
In Canton, a garden was started this spring by Catholic Youth Organization members, said youth leader Leslie Hayes.
“It felt great getting confirmation that we were on the right track” when several different people suggested the project soon after her son pitched the idea to the youth group, she said.
One parishioner tilled soil along the church drive and offered advice on what to grow, while another introduced a friend to the youth group and “taught the kids how to garden the land at virtually no cost,” Hayes said.
Parishioners weeded, watered, tended crops and picked produce to donate to the parish food pantry.
“The grasshoppers were not kind to us, but we fed the people for about two months,” Hayes said.
In Jacksonville, Our Lady of Sorrows parishioners have planted a community garden in a quarteracre plot behind the church office for the last three years, throwing themselves wholeheartedly behind the project, Father Kusmirek said. Produce is donated to pantries operated by the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society and a local nonprofit agency called The Hope Kitchen.
“The idea is to collaborate with others,” the priest said. “My take on it always has been that the parish isn’t here at 1023 Corinth Avenue, but all of Jacksonville and Cherokee County. Having as many people in the parish community and the community at large involved is important because it shows that as Catholics, we’re not just interested in ourselves but in caring for those around us.”
As a result, people are taking notice.
“What’s happened this year is that a number of families – once that they saw it up and going – asked, ‘Next year, can we do this with our kids?’ So we’ve planted a seed and it’s going to grow – people aren’t just going to grow food for themselves, but share what they’ve grown,” the priest said.
Hayes agreed. “The people of the parish were really interested in watching the garden grow and I think we piqued interest for future support. It was a learning experience this year, so we know what we will be needing for next year’s garden based on our experience this year.”
Despite the challenges of gardening–excessive heat curtailing the growing season, battling insects that devour crops and keeping weeds under control–volunteers keep coming back to help.
“I know the ones who work the gardens get addicted to it,” Nelms said. “It’s their life.”
