Community garden brings fresh produce, joy to many

IC photo by Christine Young

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Jim Doty tends the community garden at the Weigand Homeless Day Center and Saint Vincent de Paul dining hall, which he has done since it was planted last spring.

SALT LAKE CITY – The community garden at Catholic Community Services’ Weigand Homeless Day Center and Saint Vincent de Paul dining hall has produced not only fruits and vegetables, but also joy and the opportunity to learn a new skill.

The garden was the idea of Barbara Wolfe, a case manager at the Weigand Day Center, who is a master gardener. “I’ve wanted to do this for some time and this area was just grass and woodchips,” she said. “So in January I asked if we could put in a garden because it would help give our clients something to do. I showed them how to plant and care for the garden, and they did the work. The garden is for them and they get the benefit from it.”

Wolfe said this garden has given the clients the ability to do a little work and see the results of their efforts. “One client said the garden reminds him of when he was a kid and times were good,” Wolfe said.

The clients planted tomatoes, green peppers, jalapeños, chives, horse radish, acorn squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, okra, cucumbers, various herbs, mustard greens and collard greens and green beans. “We have harvested six rows of green beans and given them to the clients, the dining hall and to the food pantry,” said Wolfe. “Then the dining hall gives us all their green material and we use it for compost.”

Refugee volunteers have been learning about composting, and have been quite curious about why it’s done, said Audra Roberts, Food Services manager. “This year the garden did not produce enough to feed the 750 to 950 clients in the dining hall, but I was able to feed about 50 people. I have about 10 employees and 40 volunteers in food services, and I will harvest the collard greens this week and cook them with a ham hock and some corn bread for them. Some of the volunteers are from the South, and they will really like that.”

David Grother, a volunteer, said they made bread with zucchini from the garden. “I’ve loved having fresh produce in our lunches, too,” he said. “It’s wonderful to have a nice salad with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. This garden has been a blessing.”

Linda Perkins, a volunteer in the food pantry, was happy to be able to give clients fresh produce. “I also picked some green tomatoes and fried them for myself,” she said. “They were delicious.”

Jim Doty and Vanessa White have been the garden’s primary tenders, said Wolfe. “It has really turned Jim’s life around,” she said.

“This community garden has been a way for me to give back,” said Doty, who just retired after eight years in the Army National Guard. “It’s hard on your pride not to give to your community and it’s tough being homeless. Vanessa and I come out every morning and water every other day if it needs it. We have really enjoyed taking care of the garden. The soil is sand and we really didn’t think anything would grow, but the garden has done well. We made compost, dug trenches, and put down fertilizer and we keep the weeds out. I’ve loved picking the tomatoes and putting them out on the tables for people, and they’ve loved them.”

Doty is from Idaho and has been homeless since January.

“The garden has kept us from hanging out on the streets,” he said. “The Weigand Center has been an awesome place.”