How you can use your garden for good

In the church, this past Sunday was an important holy day within the church year called Pentecost. 

The day of Pentecost, which literally means 50, is on the seventh Sunday after Easter. But it’s not originally a Christian celebration; it’s the Jewish day of Shavuot — the festival of the weeks.

One aspect of Shavuot is that it originally marked a first fruits celebration in which Jews would come to Jerusalem 50 days after Passover to express gratitude for the beginning of the harvest.

A recurring theme in scripture is the call to give back, to feed our neighbors from our first fruits and to be mindful of those who hunger. 

Those in our community in need of food come from many backgrounds. Some residents need a little help for a few months to get through a tough patch and some neighbors are always going to need a hand.

Access to fresh food is a constant challenge.

According to the results of the 2022 Minnesota Food Shelf Survey, last year our state saw record food shelf usage. 85% of the survey respondents visited the food shelf at least once per month or more during 2022. 

Additionally, per the Foundation for Essential Needs, “shoppers continued to prioritize fresh foods like fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and eggs. However, in 2022 they were often less able to obtain those fresh foods compared with 2019, reflecting the more challenging food sourcing environment.”

Think about your own eating habits and needs. Regular consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables leads to a healthier lifestyle. We feel better, it helps our mood and overall well-being. The downstream impact of not having access to healthier foods will affect long-term health and wellness.

It is challenging and expensive for food shelves to buy fresh produce, especially because of the effects on the supply chain from the pandemic. 

Do you have a garden? Do you find yourself overwhelmed with the harvest come August and September? I have a place for you to share that abundance. 

Bring it to the Community Helping Hands or a local food shelf in your community. Or bring it to Faith Lutheran Church on Wednesdays throughout the summer and we’ll deliver it for you.

Our church continues this exciting ministry called Faith Feeds Our Neighbors because we are expressing our gratitude to God for our harvest. And, we know that from our abundance, the health and wellness of our neighbors can be assisted. 

This is a win-win for all of us; No more excess food waste and trying to find a neighbor to take a basket of veggies that you can’t possibly eat. Now, you can directly share those extras with a neighbor who is craving the benefits of fresh food but is on a limited income and can’t afford to buy their own. 

May God bless your gardens to be full and thriving this summer.

I hope our neighbors will be the recipients of the harvest from that abundance. 

For more information on the results of the 2022 MN Food Shelf Survey, visit ffen.org/blog/theres-much-to-learn-from-the-2022-minnesota-food-shelf-survey.

Pastor John Klawiter is the senior pastor of Faith Lutheran Church. For more information, email him at  . This originally appeared in the Forest Lake Times.