August 16, 2023

The late night thunder, lightning, and rain did not deter the hardy LAF harvesters. The sun was just rising in the east early Tuesday morning as Doug, Daniel, and Kim hand-picked almost thirty pounds of cucumbers,  squash, and tomatoes. Many thanks to these hardy souls, as time to harvest is of the utmost essence as our forest friends found the garden "buffet."  The next opportunity for LAF harvesting is on Thursday night at 6:30. Don't want to forget a huge thank you to all who contributed to the compost bins. Doug has opened another bin due to your generous compost donations. Look for the tarp with a wooden post that has printed HERE on it to leave your compost.

As our neighbors arrived on Saturday morning, they couldn't  help but notice the aroma of something  simmering in the gathering room. Chef Martha, spoon and skillet in hand,  was stirring up a tasty recipe with items from our pantry. Diced tomatoes, black beans, over rice, and a recipe were offered to our 112 families representing 419 individuals. Five new families had the opportunity to shop with a volunteer and select from the donations received this week.

This is truly a charitable community. Not only have we had lots of food donations this week, but school supplies, bookbags, and from Tractor farms, 600 ears of freshly picked corn.  Panera, Bimbos, and City Bakery filled our bread racks with bread and bakery items. Bright Farms donated 20 cases of salad kits.  Other donors include: Flavor-First tomatoes & peppers, Wal-Mart and Big Lots-misc items and food,  Project Dignity-feminine products, Humane Society-dog/cat food and MilkCo-milk. Nativity Lutheran , Fletcher Methodist, Calvary Episcopal, Tabernacle of Praise Churches and other anonymous donors contributed their time, food, and misc. items during the week.

Another heartfelt  thank you goes to our Executive Board Committee who began assisting with the processing of daily donated items that are left in our foyer throughout the week. The process is to weigh, record, check item dates, and shelve.  Each member has other responsibilities as a board member to maintain the integrity of our board. However, you see them often in the pantry throughout the week or the garden. We are appreciative for the gift of your time and talents. 

On behalf of the Executive Committee, thank you to our volunteers and our area churches, civic groups, local merchants, and families for all you do to feed our community, helping to reduce food insecurity.  We thank you and appreciate  your food and monetary donations.

News from the lord’s acre, fletcher

“A Time to Plant and a Time to Reap”

PLANT AND WEED THURSDAY AT 6:30 P.M.

Volunteers (sixteen of them!--see the photo) planted collards and harvested vegetables last Thursday. The Thursday harvest was 157 pounds, for a total of 300 pounds for the week.

This week, we plant the other 125 collard plants that will bear in late September through mid-November. We will also catch up on some weeding we have set aside while attending to the harvest abundance. Think of pulling weeds as a form of intimate communion with God's creation. Also, come for informal conversation and prayer with others.

A TIME OF TURNING

If you work in the Lord's Acre, you are confronted with both the wonders of new growth and abundance as well as the realities of decline and death. You may remember the song, "Turn, Turn, Turn", written by Pete Seeger and made popular by The Byrds in 1965. The lyrics are taken from Proverbs, and are a reminder that everything changes; life is fleeting. Gardeners and farmers know this more than most. Late August is the time when summer vegetable plants in the field are getting brown, succumbing to inevitable pest or disease pressure. It's disheartening in a way, even though we know it happens reliably every late summer. This is not the time of year to show off the garden; it's all spindly and limp, decaying even.

But last week in the Lord's Acre, we pulled out the last of the bug-eaten bush beans to make room this week for healthy collard seedlings that will grow, upright and lush, throughout the fall. The same for beets, lettuce, and spinach that will be planted in the early fall in the field and hoop house, replacing the tomatoes and cucumbers.

The saying, "For something to live, something must die" is born out in the garden. Not only do dying plants make room for the next crop, but also the fertility of the soil is fundamentally made up of dead plants and dead microorganisms. Dying is really just a part of the cycle of living.

Christians profess this. Death is not the end of the story. It's real, and sometimes hard to look at. But, it makes way for the next chapter in the story, which includes new life, growth, and abundance.

Here's a reflection question next time you're in the garden: "What needs to die in me for something new to grow?"