insideout

The financial downturn and the pursuit of sound environmental policies and practices have been topics of global concern lately. In our community, we’ve set our minds on minimizing the impact of the recession while also minimizing our own impact on the earth. As a humble, effective approach to both problems, kitchen gardens are being developed with an eye on saving money and engendering goodwill in our communities through teamwork and charity. For gardeners it is an enriching experience that nurtures bodies, communities and eco-systems while reaffirming the significance of cooking and eating (or picking and eating).

Taking a small step, like starting a kitchen garden, is a simple way to begin saving money and to foster stronger relationships within the community. Unfortunately, the high cost of produce keeps it out of reach of lower-income consumers and drives many grocery shoppers to purchase largely processed and nutritionally deplete products because they‘re less expensive. For only the price of seed, water and tools (and a little something called “sweat equity”), gardeners harvest enough to keep their kitchens stocked for a season or more. What they save on grocery expenditures, they pay forward by generously donating extra crops to friends, neighbors and passersby. The healthy, hard-earned abundance of the garden then strengthens and creates community bonds.

Local churches have begun developing community gardens in the spirit of charity and friendship. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, under the direction of the Rev. Whayne Hougland, has broken ground on a plot in the 200 block of West Council Street. Through the generosity of neighbors and the hard work of the church family and students from Volunteer Catawba, St. Luke’s has begun development of a template to help other groups create their own community gardens. “This comes out of the tough economic times,” said Hougland. “We need to learn to grow our own and get back in touch with who we are in our relationship with the earth. This is bringing the community of church together.” The produce from the garden will be shared with those in need and donated to Rowan Helping Ministries as part of St. Luke’s effort to provide for the poor in Rowan County.

Members of Woodleaf Methodist Church are also tending to a community kitchen garden, which is located behind the church off NC 801. “God blessed us with all this beautiful land,” said the Rev. Ron Hartman who spearheaded the idea. “We want to let the people take advantage of it.” The congregation has joined together along side Cub Scout Pack 320 to donate their time and labor and to collect funds for an irrigation system. Visitors are invited to glean from the garden on Saturday mornings with “no questions asked,” says Hartman. Any overabundance will also be shared with the needy through donations to Rowan Helping Ministries.

We’ve been taught since we were young to reduce, reuse and recycle. Lately, that mantra has been traded in for the newer, all encompassing “Go green.” As part of a more in-depth environmental philosophy, we try to reduce our carbon footprint and adhere to eco-friendly practices like buying the right light bulbs. And of course, we still obey the three Rs.

Planting and effectively using a garden is part of that effort. Though we’re speaking specifically about kitchen gardens, home and community gardens of any sort add to the green infrastructure of a city. The plants themselves act as pollution fighters by consuming carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen, which improves the air quality of the surrounding area. Gardeners can also monitor and control the use of chemicals and practice composting which further reduces the use of chemical fertilizers by reintroducing nutrients into the soil.

The clearest environmental benefit of kitchen gardening, however, is the reduction in waste associated with the foods we consume. Food packaging accounts for a large percentage of the garbage produced by families, so kitchen gardening means there’s less to throw away at home.

It feels like looking a gift horse in the mouth to say that there are negative effects of having such an overabundance of food – obesity, disease and gluttony among them. But a disappearing appreciation for ingredients, cooking and eating is another repercussion of our convenience-oriented food culture. Pre-packaged, nutritionally void products have trained generations of consumers to eat what’s easy instead of what’s enriching.

Maintaining a kitchen garden can counteract this trend to some degree, particularly when children get involved. Observing the growth of a lettuce head or green pepper from beginning to end teaches us to appreciate the miracle of it and the degree of work needed to make that vegetable happen. When we understand the real value of what we’re eating, the experience is recognized for its importance. Eating can become enjoyable and interactive; not just an act of habit.

Though the work involved in producing a garden is arduous and sometimes tedious, the benefits are worthwhile. Because regardless of what you decide to plant or how much is actually produced, communities will be built, traditions reinforced, waste avoided and money saved because that garden was grown. (And you’ll have some fun in the process.)