Humanity House
The Humanity House Community Garden is coming along beautifully. Gardeners of all ages are growing amazing crops with row after row of gorgeous colors and textures that are quite pleasing to the eye.
Three-and-a-half years ago, during Santas Toy Shop, a little boy told me that all he wanted for Christmas was food in his house. Those words were heartbreaking and inspiring. The next spring Val McLean gave Humanity House permission to start growing produce to give away. Fresh for You produce distributions quickly became popular, and in the last two years we have grown nearly seven tons of produce and given it away. The people who come to the distributions come from all income levels, races, ages, and degrees of health.
In every program that we provide, we learn something valuable. Fresh For You taught us that people were looking for more than freshly grown produce. They were looking for companionship. Most of the people there did not know one another when we started. But over the course of the first year, they all became fast friends, helping each other out, sharing recipes, laughing and joking, showing concern for health issues, some arriving an hour early just to visit and spend time with others.
The first leg of every weeks distribution begins at the Townhouse West. A rowdy group of 15-20 enthusiastic residents meet us in the lobby and follow us into the kitchen area. Then we go to the Little Humanity Garden on the corner of Jefferson and Jackson, where people have already begun lining up. We begin the distribution as the town clock strikes 6 p.m., and within 30 minutes, the produce is gone. On the days when the harvest is huge, we may add a third leg to our journey and take leftover produce to the Senior Center.
This year, we hope that we will be able to purchase the ventless hood and fire suppression system that will allow us to cook up a meal with the produce we harvest to share with those who come to the distribution, teaching people a new way to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We also will be teaching food preservation so that our bountiful harvests can be enjoyed by others throughout the winter.
Having the Elm Creek Community Garden donated to Humanity House has allowed us to change policy and begin fall and winter gardening, which will broaden the scope of who we can help.
Our first year, I received a message one Saturday morning from a person who berated me for parading poor people on the square. She had friends who could use the food but they did not want to demean themselves by standing in line where everyone could see them. After explaining why we did distributions at the corner location but offering to make a box of produce and deliver it to the family, I heard nothing back.
It would be possible, with a lot of planning, to make boxes of produce and deliver it, but one of the best aspects of Fresh For You would be lost. The friendships that are made last long after our part is done.
Fresh For You begins on June 8 at 6 p.m.
We hope to see you there. Kindness matters!
