"If you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." Matthew 17:20
Vineyard Boise's "Garden
Project" is the realized dream of Rick and Dian Roberson along
with Vineyard's benevolence director, Amy Dietrich. The Roberson
family started attending Vineyard Boise four years ago. They believe
in involving their whole family in ministry and jumped right in by
packing food boxes for the "The
Pantry." This not only imparted the value of giving and
serving together to their children, but also opened up new ideas for
ministries.
The Robersons saw a need to provide
inexpensive, fresh produce for The Pantry and
Feeding God's
Children, Vineyard's weekly BBQ in the park for the homeless. Dian
approached the church about starting a garden on the property. She
contacted several local businesses, and within twenty-four hours,
seeds, soil, bedding plants and lumber for the beds were donated. The
"Garden O' Feedin'" was born.
Dian's grandparents, who homesteaded and farmed in Nampa all their lives, often gave her seeds to plant. By the 3rd grade it was apparent she had a green thumb when her startled mother discovered zucchini, peanuts and tomatoes growing in her flowerbeds. With her love of gardening, combined with a heart for people in need, Dian is "taking her natural talent and turning it into something useful for ministry," remarks Amy Dietrich. In Dian's own words, "No matter what you love doing, God can find a way to use your talent. He can use anything, including digging in the dirt!"
In
1998, the first successful year for the Garden Project, it produced
five beds of lettuce, tomatoes, peas, squash, peppers and green beans
- at least $300 worth of produce. Fresh lettuce, onions and tomatoes
garnished hamburgers at Feeding God's Children. The children's
ministry got involved by planting green beans and had fun watching
them grow. Juvenile Services sent teens to the Garden Project to plant
vegetables as part of their community service.
In 1999, only one bed was planted as
the garden location was moved twice due to the construction of the
Barnabas
Center.
The year 2000 was much better with four beds producing two full crates of tomatoes and peppers per week from August to early October. Spicy salsa from freshly picked jalapenos, habaneras and tomatoes were a gold mine for the low-income families who were used to bland food from other pantries. Although there are a number of pantries in the Boise area, none supply fresh produce. As Dian puts it: "If people see big juicy tomatoes picked that morning, they get excited."
In conjunction with the Garden Project, "Going Into the Fields Together," known as the GIFT program, encourages low-income families to sign a contract and commit to volunteer work and education classes. The work involves gleaning produce from farmers' fields and picking fruit from orchards. A portion of the produce is then donated to The Pantry. Families attend nutrition classes and a budget seminar where they learn to cook healthy, low-cost meals on a budget.
Both Amy and Dian love the interaction with people in the benevolence ministries. Amy says that the Garden Project has really served as a community-builder. She is always looking for opportunities to share the love of God naturally by making connections and friendships with people.
"We are here to be faithful," Amy says, "to help in the benevolence process, not necessarily to raise a big harvest."
She recognizes that most homeless and low-income families lack the tools and resources to break out of the cycle of poverty.
"We can either be a Band-Aid or bring about a solution to restore them to a healthy place in society, where they can contribute their own unique talents and skills. We provide people with tangible tools to better their circumstances", says Amy.
Amy and Dian have ambitious goals for the upcoming gardening season, now that the garden has a more permanent location. Twelve new vegetable beds will be added to the existing six, totaling eighteen. A quarter- to a half-acre of land will be developed with a surrounding protective hedge. There are also plans for a pumpkin patch this fall for the children's ministry. [Dian's Gardening Tip: Pumpkins thrive in poor soil.] They would also like to have a greenhouse on location, as seeds have to be nurtured indoors from March until the last frost in June when the starts can be planted outdoors. Contact Amy if you happen to have a spare greenhouse!
The ultimate goal for the Garden Project includes vegetable beds, an orchard, greenhouse, fountain, benches and a picnic area - a quiet place to meditate and enjoy God's creation (without the snakes!). They imagine an idyllic orchard with apple, plum, apricot and nectarine trees, with strawberries and squash filling the beds and blackberries and raspberries abounding in the hedge. And of course, this Vineyard vision would not be complete without grapes, which Dian is already nurturing.
Coincidentally, the "Millennium Garden" project, which aims to provide every capital city with a community garden, is taking shape locally as an exciting partnership between the Ada County Extension Agency and the University of Idaho. There is possibility of obtaining a grant that would bring this vision of sowing the seeds of love one step closer to reality.
Boise Vineyard's Garden Project is volunteer-based and currently exists through donations from church members and local businesses. No previous gardening experience is necessary. You can sign up to help for one day or for the whole season. Both children and adults are welcome! There is a special need right now for people to help build the new beds. Gardening classes will begin in April/May for anyone in the local community. The class participants will need multiple tools - shovels, rakes, trowels, kneeling pads, gloves, wheelbarrows.
To volunteer your time or donate
items, sign up with the online v-mail
or contact
Amy Dietrich or Dian
Roberson .
