A group of volunteers recently spent some time at a Gainesville food bank improving and en;argomg the agency's community garden.
For Walker Greene, a sophomore at North Gwinnett High School and a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 513, GMFB planted a seed during a seemingly routine volunteer experience at the Food Bank’s Gainesville facility.
“My dad volunteers at Georgia Mountain Food Bank and I have volunteered before as well,” Greene said. “My experience impacted me in such a way that when I was picking my Eagle Scout project, the Food Bank immediately came to mind.”
So in November 2015, Greene met with Phil Dennis, volunteer coordinator at GMFB, and asked if there was anything thing he could do to help. Out of that conversation, emerged a need to improve and enhance GMFB’s community garden.
GMFB’s outdoor community garden is located on the side of its 22,000-square-foot logistics center. Its main purpose is to serve as an educational tool to teach about food, nutrition and cultivation, and to show where our food originates. The community garden also provides the opportunity to grow fresh produce for use in agency distributions and GMFB’s senior program.
“I got really excited about the project,” Greene continued, “because while a lot of my fellow Boy Scouts also pick some kind of landscaping project for their Eagle Scout project, I knew this particular project would make a difference in people’s lives.”
In the past, the garden did not have adequate fencing to keep animals from eating the produce. Greene’s project not only provided fencing to secure the Food Bank’s garden, but he developed it in a way that was portable and could be removed or moved if the garden were to relocate. In addition, Greene planned and prepared six new raised beds to bring the garden total to 12 beds.
“I researched how high the fence would need to be to keep deer from jumping over it and I looked at a few different ways to build the fence before I went with the design I chose,” Greene said.
The implementation of the project took one full Saturday and the assistance of around 20 volunteers.
“It was amazing to see how I was able to bring people together and organize something that seemed like such a big thing to undertake,” Greene concluded. “I look forward to being able to see how the garden is used for the benefit of our community.”
Dennis observed that volunteering at GMFB seems to plant a seed in people that grows throughout their lives.
“Staring hunger in the face, and seeing the efforts being made at the Food Bank to end hunger, forever changes people,” Dennis said. “Our volunteers want to come again and again. Many of them turn into donors, board members, supporters and special friends with gifts and talents to share like Walker.”
In fact, last year GMFB logged enough volunteer hours to equal five full-time employees and are on pace this year to equal six.
“This place is contagious,” said Kay Blackstock, executive director of GMFB. “When people get to see, touch and feel the impact of hunger right here in their own back yard, something moves within them to want to do more.”
Blackstock commended Walker for taking the community garden to the next level.
“Not only will we be able to produce more pounds of fresh produce to distribute this year, but we will be able to engage and teach our community about where their food comes from and cultivate healthier food choices through this greater understanding,” Blackstock said.
At 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, the Gainesville Jaycees will arrive at the Food Bank to plant the garden for the season.
“The Jaycees have been a partner with this project from the start,” Blackstock said. “They bring strong backs and enthusiastic energy and put in the tough labor that plants the seeds for a harvest for all. We are thrilled to have their continued support and interest in the Food Bank and look forward to sowing the fruits of their labor soon.”
“This is just one of many stories of the tireless work our volunteers put into GMFB’s efforts each and every day,” Blackstock continued. “As volunteer appreciation week concludes, I want to thank each and every person who has volunteered and helped our efforts. We would not be where we are without you. On behalf of the more than 47,000 food insecure people in our service area you have helped serve, I say thank you.”
For more information about how you can become involved with GMFB, call 770-534-4111 or visit www.gamountainfoodbank.org.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/4/388766/volunteers-plant-seeds-of-harvest-at-gainesville-food-bank