BIDDEFORD — Peas are one of the vegetables planted by 7-year-old Molly Katanga of Biddeford at the Pierson’s Lane Playground this past spring. She and other children who attend the Joyful Harvest Neighborhood Center after-school and summer programs planted raised-bed gardens full of all kinds of vegetables.
“I’ve been working a lot” on the garden, said Molly on Monday.
Despite the hard work, she said, “It’s really fun.”
Molly’s sister Macy, who is 10, was also at the garden site on Monday. She said she wasn’t around to do the actual planting, but helped by pulling out weeds.
“I screwed in the sign,” she added.
Last year, Joyful Harvest had a vegetable garden at a different location.
“I was really into it,” said Molly.
This year’s garden is part of “The Summer Harvest,” said Holly Culloton, president of the downtown revitalization organization Heart of Biddeford which is working with Joyful Harvest on the project.
The project is sponsored by Partners for a Hunger-Free York County, said Culloton, which is under the umbrella of the United Way of York County.
According to its Facebook page, Partners for a Hunger-Free York County is “a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to sustainably increase and improve access to fresh, healthy food for those who need it in York County.”
“The goal (of The Summer Harvest) is to expand community gardens throughout the downtown,” said Culloton.
Working with Joyful, “we invite the kids to come and work in the garden,” she said. After the harvest, “they can take vegetables home to their families.”
“The kids love it,” said Culloton. “They flock here. They want to help.”
In addition to giving food to the children, some of the vegetables are used for a program at Joyful Harvest.
In “Cooking Matters,” which is a program of the Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition, the children are taught about how to use the food.
The food may also be used for another program at Joyful Harvest. Retired home economics teacher Bonnie Buechs hopes to work with harvested vegetables to show the children healthy and fun ways to prepare a plethora of garden goodies.
They’ll have a large assortment of fresh food from which to choose. The vegetables being grown include: Peas, tomatoes, squash, peppers, broccoli, kale, blueberries, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, radishes, pumpkins and herbs.
In addition to the children from Joyful Harvest and Culloton, there are a number of green-thumb volunteers who help out with the garden. One is Nadal Hamza, who lives just down the street from the garden. Her daughter, 6-year-old Noor, attends Joyful Harvest when Hamza is working.
Hamza said she has lots of gardening experience; she had a large garden in her native country of Iraq.
She said she thinks the garden is a good idea.
“Some kids don’t have food in the homes,” said Hamza, and the Pierson’s Lane Playground garden can provide them with good, nutritious food.
“When people eat from (the garden), God is happy and I’m happy,” said Hamza.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or [email protected].
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