This is the ninth year for the community garden that was started and continues to operate, thanks to Holli Green and her volunteers. Together, Holli and her volunteers grow vegetables that are donated to the Farmer’s Market at the Miller Center, as well as offering their crop to the food bank at the First Baptist Church. The vegetables are given away at no cost, but Holli and her team will accept donations (the donations are optional). The goal is to simply help offer nutritional food to the community. Each year, they give away hundreds of pounds of vegetables.

Holli said that she needs more volunteers to help with the community garden. It’s not hard work but the volunteers can expect to help plant, weed, pick, and water the plants. There’s also a social aspect to helping with the garden that volunteers enjoy. Working around the plants, enjoying the fresh air, and socializing with others can be therapeutic. Once the crop grows, the volunteers are offered some of the food for their efforts, too. If you want to volunteer to help with the garden, please call Holli at (309) 256-8354

This year Holli has some help from Jason Vogel. Jason isn’t only going to help Holli; he’s also going to offer classes to people who want to know how to garden. We all know that going to the grocery store can be somewhat disappointing. The costs of food and vegetables continue to increase. To make matters worse, the quality of the foods we buy is questionable at times. Reports about the foods we consume, and the effects of the pesticides used to help repel insects can be detrimental to our health. So why not learn to grow your own food and stay in control of what you consume. 

The idea of planting a vegetable garden and growing our own foods sounds good but it takes knowledge and planning that not everyone has. Jason Vogel from Illinois Home Gardening Alliance is working with the Pekin Park District to help people learn to grow vegetables. He can help take the mystery out of gardening. The fees that Jason charges for the classes cover the cost of the products used in class, and any remaining proceeds will be turned over to the Community Garden.