Gardens for Good wrapped up its fourth year distributing fresh produce to residents at the Wilson Public Hi-Rise
10/05/2024
Gardens for Good recently wrapped up its fourth year distributing fresh produce donated by Ramsey County Master Gardener volunteers to residents at the Wilson Public Hi-Rise in St. Paul. This year saw over 1,700 pounds of vegetables, fruit, and herbs donated over 13 weeks beginning on July 11th and finishing strong on October 3rd. Roughly 30 volunteers donated their extra garden bounty in support of this effort to address food insecurity in our service area. In addition to donating produce, fifteen volunteers signed up to staff the 76 collection, distribution, and tear-down shifts over the summer, most of them signing up for multiple shifts throughout the season.
Team Leads Beth Fritcher and Terry Smith were on site nearly every week to lead the teams. Katie Robinson sent an email to growers each Monday to share insights from the previous week and encourage donations of popular items. Laurel Watt delivered produce each week after collecting from RCMG volunteers in the Highland, Macalester-Groveland, and Lexington-Hamline neighborhoods of St. Paul. Other RCMG growers made trips to the Maplewood Extension Office ("the Barn") each week to drop off their produce and chat with the collection team.
As part of the Gardens for Good project, each week the produce delivered to the Barn by RCMG volunteers is weighed, sorted, and loaded into the vehicles of the distribution shift volunteers for transport to the Wilson Hi-Rise. After unloading, the free market is set up just outside of the entrance to the building. Several enthusiastic residents are always waiting for us when we arrive, and a line forms as soon as the first table is in place. A typical week sees over 25 residents visiting our free market. The Wilson Hi-Rise population is mostly older adults and seniors, diverse, and low-income.
Whether volunteering with Gardens for Good for four years or just four weeks, RCMG volunteers at the market have become fond of our regular customers and look forward to surprising them with their favorite items when available. When Joanne enthusiastically spotted some Lemon Boy tomatoes several weeks ago, we asked her how she knew the variety. After she told us that her sister used to grow them, Beth and Laurel made sure to bring more for each of the remaining weeks of the season. We also know who likes the green tomatoes and the hottest peppers. One of the residents loves to regale us with stories of the hottest peppers he has ingested and lived to tell about. And occasionally, Wilson residents surprise us with samples of the dishes they’ve cooked with market vegetables, including delicious cuisine from Cameroon courtesy of Amy. Customers regularly provide the Gardens for Good team with heartfelt expressions of gratitude, which can take the form of Lisa’s fresh zucchini bread made with donated RCMG zucchini. (We now have Lisa’s recipe, too!)
Please consider joining us next year in 2025 on Thursdays in July through the first week of October. We promise you will have a good time!
Terry Smith
Gardens for Good Co-Lead
RCMG Volunteer