Parish garden feeds hungry, teaches tomorrow's gardeners

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WARWICK – Tucked behind Sts. Rose and Clement church in a large, grassy field is a fenced-in slice of gardening paradise.

Sunflowers tower above rows of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. A watermelon patch sits snugly against one side of the fence, leading the way to peppers, both hot and sweet, and the damp earth of a potato patch. A small bed contains blue corn to be ground into cornmeal, and next to it, five varieties of eggplants glisten in the sun.

This oasis was created by a small group of parishioners who receive help and donations from volunteers in the community. All the food they grow, and there is a lot of it — almost 1,000 pounds this season — is donated to Westbay Marketplace, a nearby food pantry in the Buttonwoods section of Warwick.

The garden requires a lot of work to maintain, though. The gardeners use a "no-till" method, so only hand tools are used. Careful mulching and weeding are needed just outside the fence to prevent weeds from entering the garden.

It's a project that would require intense work by the parishioners. "It would take us forever to do," said Marie Andolpho.

That's where the Providence College Friars Club comes in.

Andolpho was at a Staple's store making copies of an informational flier about the garden. Betsy Rouleau was at the store that day as well. She noticed Andolpho's fliers and was intrigued. She introduced herself as a member of the Friars Club, and asked if Andolpho needed any volunteers to help in the garden. Andolpho was stunned. She did need volunteers; indeed, she had been praying for help in keeping up the large garden. Rouleau had a large group of students at her disposal, ready, willing and able to do the volunteer work.

"We didn't even contact them. They asked us if they could help, which is nothing short of a miracle," said Andolpho.

Rouleau was excited to have found a project worthy of her first monthly mission for the school year. Since last year she has organized one, and sometimes two, missions each month for members of the Friars Club.

On a sunny Saturday in September, the volunteers headed to Warwick, 25 students in all, arriving in different shifts. They weeded around the fence and laid down newspapers and mulch to keep out weeds. "They're so young; they're so strong; they've gotten it done in two hours," marveled Andolpho.

The PC volunteers were as excited about the project as the parish gardeners were. They laughed and joked while wielding rakes and wheelbarrows. Margaret Farwell, Sergeant at Arms of the club said the experience was "a way for the club to bond."

The idea that their work would eventually manifest itself as a donation of food to the food pantry was another benefit for the college students. Farwell said she was glad they were able to help "people who don't have a dining hall full of food."

The food produced in the garden is grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides. Often it is picked and brought immediately to the food pantry, where it is in the hands of someone who needs it within hours, said Melone. "If you went to Whole Foods Market you'd be paying a fortune for this food," she said.

There is another layer to the mission of the parish gardeners, Andolpho explained. It is an opportunity to teach people, particularly children, about gardening, which is a skill she sees falling by the wayside in younger generations. "A lot of young people now don't know where their food comes from, how to put a seed in the ground and nurture it," she said. "We want to get the kids involved," added Melone.

The gardeners hold an annual open house where parishioners and community members are invited to learn about what is produced there. They also welcome volunteer groups of all sizes, even individuals, to help with the garden and they hope to be able to offer workshops about gardening in the future.