A desert of sorts was transformed into an abundant garden for a few remarkable weeks last summer in a low-income area in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
In Lake County, IL, members of Christ Together (www.christtogether.com), a network of about 70 evangelical churches and faith-based not-for-profits collaborated with a mix of community organizations and businesses on the Manna Garden initiative last summer. Churches and individuals planted vegetable gardens or expanded already-existing plots and the resulting produce became part of a free farmer's market in an area identified by community organizers as a food desert on the border of Waukegan and North Chicago. The Center For Disease Control defines a food desert as an area that lacks access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and other foods that make up a healthy diet.
Lake County, tucked between Chicago and the Wisconsin state line, is one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S. However, at least 50,000 of its residents, or 7% of the population, live in poverty. Of this group, over 21,000 people live in extreme poverty. Another 91,000 people in the area live on an income that barely sustains them and their families.
Christ Together had been facilitating a canned and packaged food drive that resulted in the collection and distribution in the county of as much as 120,000 pounds of food each fall. In addition, a number of congregations run soup kitchens or emergency food pantries. Though these efforts provide necessary sustenance, several of those involved in these efforts noted that a large portion of what was donated each year was highly-processed food high in carbohydrates, fats, salts, and sugars. A primary diet of such foods can create a variety of health issues for families and their children.
A series of informal conversations around these issues shifted to a series of gatherings last winter with representatives from community organizations including Green Town Waukegan, the Lake County Forest Preserve District, Former Inmates Striving Together (F.I.S.T.) and churches including Waukegan’s First Baptist, North Suburban Mennonite, Trinity AME, Christ Episcopal, and Faith Lutheran Lake Forest. “I thought everyone would be fighting to advance their own territory or area of passion,” said Bill Yaccino, Christ Together’s Chicago area Executive Director. “But we were able to paint a picture of the entire need, look at the strong resources that already existed, and allow God’s people to piece themselves into that dream. True collaboration characterized our planning.” The group brainstormed ways to add healthier whole food options, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables, to food pantry offerings.
“Some of us have a focus on resourcing families and local food pantries with fresh produce,” said Rev. Keith Cerk of First Baptist. “Others seek job creation and skill training for those needing work because ‘green collar’ jobs such as urban farming are a booming career field. Some of us have community development or city beautification goals, while others are invested in educating our children, seeing gardening as a way to enthuse learning about critical subjects such as the natural sciences.” Cerk noted that everyone who has participated in the series of networking and brainstorming meetings may be coming at the issue of urban gardens from different angles, but all those angles converge in concern for the health and well-being of the community. “I love to see churches partnering with neighbors and others of good will to address concerns we all have a stake in. To me, the Kingdom of God is all about what happens as we build these relationships.”
North Suburban Mennonite was already involved in reaching out to backyard gardeners, asking them to plant more than they needed for their own use, then go online (www.lovingneighbor.org) and register their intent to donate the excess to local food pantries. A number of congregations across the county tilled a garden plot for the first time; others expanded on garden space they’d already created. And in at least one case, a church member invited his entire neighborhood to participate in the effort. (See www.christtogether.com/news/what-can-grow-in-a-backyard-garden for more on this story.) This collaborative effort to resource neighbors in the county’s food deserts was dubbed the Manna Garden initiative.
Some of the vegetables these gardens produced were transported to Trinity A.M.E., located on Waukegan’s south side. A free farmer's market launched on the afternoon of Friday, July 29 and ran each week until the end of September. Three Waukegan churches partnered to oversee the effort, and a number of other local churches provided logistical help, committed volunteers, and valuable community connections. These connections brought additional fresh and high quality packaged food donations to the farmer’s market from Northern Illinois Food Bank and a couple of local grocers.
The very first week, over 3,000 pounds of food was given away to 162 families. They were able to select their own food from the abundance at the free farmer’s market at no cost to them. Leftover items were donated to shelters and soup kitchens in the area. As word of the free farmer’s market spread in the community, the numbers grew each week.
Retired civil engineer Dick Hocking had been involved in his home congregation’s community outreach program, a part of which was a growing commitment to respond to local hunger issues. He noted, “Our goal isn’t just a handout. We want to empower people to break out of the welfare cycle to help themselves. One way is by coming together to grow their own produce.” Some involved in the Manna Garden initiative are working toward planting community gardens in the food desert areas of Waukegan next spring. Others are planning to work toward expansion of the program in other food desert areas in the county.
Hocking noted that the experience has been a spiritual growth experience in his life. “After you get involved in something like this, you don’t think about how you’re impacting others until you see how all the work comes together. The Friday free farmer’s market days have been very emotional for many of us.” The volunteers wanted to ensure they communicated God’s care to all those who came to the Farmer’s Market. Each customer received a shopping bag containing a small piece of faith-related literature along with healthy food preparation tips and immunization clinic information from the Lake County Health Department.
Hocking added, “One Farmer’s Market Friday, I was standing outside the church and a guy came running up to me to ask where the food was being distributed. He looked like he was worried that he might have missed out. I assured him there was plenty available, and pointed him toward the building entrance. He got to the door and stopped, then came back, grabbed my hand and said ‘thank you’. When someone who doesn’t have a lot of food stops and comes back to say thank you, there’s a lesson in there for all of us.”
