MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE, Weber County — The trunkload of vegetables didn’t constitute a sizable donation, but the hand-picked, heartfelt contribution will certainly help.
After a summer of planting, weeding and watering, volunteers from Ogden’s First United Methodist Church harvested a collection of fresh produce from its community garden and delivered it to the kitchen at the Lantern House homeless shelter on a recent morning.
Michelle Perry, the shelter’s director of food services, happily received the offering, which included a variety of beans, cucumbers, onions, zucchini, squash, lettuce, kale, cabbage, watermelon, cilantro, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and cauliflower, among other vegetables.
“I’d rather cook with fresh vegetables any day of the week,” Perry said. “It’s more nutritious and I think our guests appreciate it and can tell a difference. ... I love to work with fresh stuff so this is my favorite time of the year.”
The First United Methodist fresh produce delivery is one of many at this time of year. From late July to mid-September, Steve and Kristen Bell, along with other volunteers from their congregation (Marty Smith, Tim and Kerry Conrad, Marsha Smithing, Paul Kriekard, Sharon Stewart and Kirsten Hawes) pick vegetables from the community garden and take them to Perry at the Lantern House kitchen once a week. The garden-grown produce adds nutrition to more than 300 prepared meals a day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, Perry said.
Perry is a lifelong member of Ogden’s First United Methodist Church and has worked with the homeless for 23 years, including the last 10 in her current role. Which fresh produce item do guests crave the most?
“Oh kale, by far,” Perry said with a straight face before sharing a laugh with the Bells and giving a more serious answer. “I’d say tomatoes and cucumbers.”
The gardeners from Ogden’s First United Methodist Church aren’t the only group to deliver fresh produce to the Lantern House. Weber State University frequently drops off items and recently donated 80 pounds of radishes and loads of zucchini and corn. The Lantern House also receives fresh produce from other home gardeners all over the area.
“Every day we receive good stuff from home gardeners, especially those folks who plant zucchini but don’t like to eat them,” Perry said with a smile. “But we use it all the time. ... We gladly welcome any donations of fresh produce. You would have to come here to see the difference it makes.”
An hour before the vegetables were delivered, community garden volunteer Marsha Smithing knelt next to a row of neatly planted dinosaur kale and cilantro. She also gathered okra, beets and parsley. As her hands worked, Smithing recalled that when she was younger, her mother often baked cookies for a local food pantry. She used to tell Smithing, “These people need to have a treat, too.” She hopes the garden’s produce can have a similar, delicious effect for those at the Lantern House.
“I feel strongly that we should help other people who don’t have the ability or resources for this,” Smithing said. “We could all be in the same situation if things had turned out differently.”
The Bells are grateful for what the garden ministry has accomplished this year. Beyond the joy of gardening, a bountiful harvest and the opportunity for outdoor social engagement with friends, sharing the fruits of their labors has been “super rewarding,” Kristen Bell said.
“Times are hard right now. There’s a lot going on in the world that’s really discouraging,” she said. “But to have a garden and to be able to share food with people that don’t have enough, like our friends at the Lantern House, it just makes you feel good inside that you’re making a difference in someone’s life. It’s a bright spot for me and I really couldn’t be happier with how the season has gone.”
Perry said the Lantern House kitchen will always accept food donations. For more information about the Lantern House, visit stannescenter.org.
“I have zero budget,” she said. “Sometimes people bring in wild game. I cooked a bear once. I’ve seen it all.”