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Health & Fitness

Community Garden "Growing" More Than Vegetables

HSP's Community Garden fruit is coming to bear thanks to help from United Way of Central Maryland and local partners

 

We have stated many times the importance of partnerships and how building those relationships can lead to productive activities that fuel new thought and energize a community. At Human Services Programs of Carroll County, Inc., partnerships are essential for our success with our clients and our programs. One such activity that gives merit to this thought took place this past week.

On Tuesday, June 5, HSP's Community Garden in Westminster was the beneficiary of United Way of Central Maryland's Community Day of Action. Nearly 15 volunteers representing areas businesses worked three hours weeding and planting the more than 5,000 square foot garden plot.

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"It was an amazing help and the amount of work accomplished by the volunteers was impressive," said Jenny Graybill, program coordinator at HSP."It was good that it could be done in a manageable time frame. Everyone was happy and really felt that they were able to give back to the community."

The garden which was given to HSP from the City of Westminster, works with several partners to "tend" to the garden. HSP specifically enlists the help of its Opportunity Works clients in addition to Grace Lutheran Church, Stone Soup Foundation, and Grow Mission.

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The 14 section garden includes: beans, tomatoes, peas, herbs, peppers, corn, yellow squash, zucchini, sunflowers, radishes, lettuce, beets and various other greens. The expectation for the harvest is mid July to early August. Graybill said that the fruits of their labor will be appreciated by clients, volunteers, local soup kitchens, shelters and the Stone Soup Foundation's mobile soup kitchen.

There is an ambitious side to this effort for the future. It is the hope of Graybill that next year a canning project will be added. "It would be really cool to participate in the Farmer's Market in the future. As far as this year,we are very excited about offering cook-out cooking classes once the produce ripens," she said.

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