Maricopa’s community garden aids local food bank

‘How does your garden grow?’ asks the old nursery rhyme. For Maricopa Christian Alliance (MCA) garden volunteers, the answer is simple: “Our garden does very well.”

The MCA community garden is located just off state Route 238 behind the Cobblestone Farms outer wall. Passersby can view row after row of thriving green plants there, all of them fruits and vegetables destined for the Maricopa F.O.R. food bank.

Almost one year ago MCA organized to address the social and religious needs of area residents. Eric Goettl serves as president and Sheriolyn Curry-Lasley as chairperson.

Garden volunteers come from their congregations, six wards of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Maricopa and additional volunteers from Mount Moriah Community AME Church. Every week 20 volunteers don gloves and bring a hoe and some drinking water to put in one hour of light to moderate work, planting, pulling weeds and harvesting the fruits and vegetables grown in the garden. All volunteer efforts are done under the supervision of Head Gardener Bill Griffin.

“In addition to the LDS wards and Mount Moriah, there are a handful of Maricopa citizens who come when they can to help out,” explained Goettl.

No children under age 12 are allowed to work without a parent present, and no chemical sprays or soil additives are used in the garden.

“Troy Skousen leases several acres from the state just behind the Cobblestone Farms community and offered us all the land and irrigation water we could use. His family’s generosity has been key in this project,” said Goettl. Since use of the land is free, seed is the only expense. It is purchased in bulk at a discounted price by Skousen and paid for by MCA.

MCA’s garden project grew out of the constant need the local F.O.R. Maricopa food bank and its director, Wendy Webb, experience in keeping the shelves stocked, particularly in the current economic downturn. No plants or produce can be sold from the garden; all are donated to the local food bank.

Goettl explained how the project originated. “We have watched Wendy Webb develop F.O.R. over the past couple of years and have desired to assist her in her valiant effort to take care of those in our community who have little. In an attempt to put into place a long-term solution to the constant food shortage F.O.R. experiences, the idea of supplementing the community’s frequent food drives with fresh vegetables from a local garden ‘took root.'”

Local residents who moved to Maricopa but miss the gardens they had in their home states have the opportunity to ‘dig in the dirt’ once again.

“The more volunteers we can consistently generate, the larger the garden can be and the more food it will generate for Wendy and our community,” said Goettl.

If your church or community group would like to work in the garden, contact Goettl at 480-375-5425 or via email at [email protected].

Submitted photos