A community garden in Jenison, Mich., is a living sermon for Kara Kaluske.
Kaluske reflects on God’s goodness while picking beans and tomatoes with her two children. “The intent of the garden being free really comes across. What a great illustration of God’s gift of salvation to all who want it!” she said.
The free garden is provided and tended by Fairway Christian Reformed Church. Several members launched the project a year ago, enlisting seed and plant donations from businesses and collecting cash for underground sprinkling on the 100- by 150-foot plot next to the church, Scott Helder said.
Neighbors, clients of a church networking organization, food pantries, and church families all enjoyed the bounty of the harvest. One Sunday church members picked 100 pounds of beans to give to a food pantry. By last summer’s end, every pepper and eggplant had been consumed.
“It’s difficult to know how many people used the garden, but immediately after we sent fliers, we saw parents and children coming,” Helder said.
Neighbor Jennie Boone noticed many harvesters visiting the garden, including her green-thumbed son, Jacob Hoving, 11. “He would be in that garden all the time if I let him,” she said.
