Community Garden and Community Gift

The Mercy House is located in a food desert in West Montgomery. As such, the availability of produce in our neighborhood is almost nonexistent. At Mercy House, we try to be a place where produce is available consistently. Food deserts are dangerous for the lack of nutritious options and the abundance of cheap and unhealthy alternatives.

Even for us, though, it can be difficult at times to acquire fruits and vegetables. We were grateful when the Community Garden and First Baptist Church in downtown Montgomery called us up with a donation of fresh strawberries, locally grown. They donated strawberries, not once, but twice this month! Most recently, we were able to sort the strawberries into plastic sandwich bags and include them in donated snack bags to be distributed to our friends coming for a hot meal.

Community gardens have historically been a staple in cities during times of crisis. Whether they’re called Victory Gardens, War Gardens, Resiliency Gardens, or Community Gardens, they’ve sustained and nourished countless communities during times of war, after natural disasters, in impoverished areas, and now, during a global pandemic.

This community garden in our Montgomery has blessed our neighbors’ bodies and souls as it brought nourishment and joy on a Friday afternoon in April. I may have been biased by the blessing of this gift, but I think those strawberries were the best ever grown.

God Bless,
Pastor Ken Austin