Behind The J, tucked between the parking lot and the ball fields, is a quarter-acre of paradise with a powerful purpose.
The Garden of Eden, a community garden located behind the JCC, has been helping nourish guests of the JFS Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry since it began in 2013. Last year alone, the garden produced more than 5,300 pounds of fresh produce for the pantry, continuing a long tradition of growing healthy food for neighbors in need.
JFS staff recently had the chance to visit the garden, learn more about this meaningful community partnership and see firsthand how fresh produce makes its way from the soil to pantry shelves. Then, they traded keyboards for gardening gloves, rolled up their sleeves and got to work volunteering in the garden.
The garden continues to thrive thanks to the dedication of volunteers and leaders like co-founder Myra Rosenthal, who helped turn a dream into a daily source of nutrition for pantry guests.
“The food pantry is only a mile away,” Myra said. “I love how excited the workers at the pantry are to see what I’ve brought that day.”
What grows in the garden changes with the season and with Mother Nature’s plans. Over the years, the Garden of Eden has produced potatoes, lettuce, peppers, cherries, okra, squash, watermelon, carrots, blackberries, onions and more. The garden also grows crops for special occasions, including horseradish before Passover for pantry guests who want bitter herbs for their holiday table.
For JFS staff, the visit was a fun and hands-on reminder of how much care, generosity and hard work go into supporting the pantry. The day was filled with teamwork, sunshine and a little dirt under the fingernails, all for a great cause.
Community members can also support the Garden of Eden by volunteering. Thanks to an abundance of generosity and hard work, the Garden of Eden continues to grow food, community and kindness year after year.