An enormous Pleasant Grove garden run by 250 volunteers that produced at least hundreds of pounds of organic food for out-of-work families might be enough for most people. Not the families of Battle Creek 2nd Ward.

Members of this local LDS church congregation have just built a root cellar, natural cold storage for hundreds of ward-grown potatoes that will be used to feed members in need. Hundreds of pounds more from Idaho will be added to strengthen reserves.

In November, the garden still boasts long rows of hundreds of carrots. Innumerable quarts of other vegetables have been bottled by volunteers, and they are being stored to be distributed throughout the winter months to struggling families.

And with the economy in turmoil and the jobless rate at record levels, the idea of a church garden is catching on fast, said Bishop Bill Erickson. After watching this ward's success, other wards are now planning their own gardens for next year.

The garden, which covers a half acre, was Erickson's brain child. On a recent evening, ward volunteers hauled in tons of donated manure to cover leaves spread over the garden by ward youth. Tilled into the soil, the manure and leaves will rot over winter, turning into rich organic compost by spring.

Over the summer, the ward had five families whose breadwinner had lost a job, he said. The garden produce also went to other families who were underemployed or otherwise treading water financially. Bottled and root-cellared food from the garden will continue that support even as snow covers the garden plot.

Erickson said he is concerned not only about the future of the nation's economy, but about his congregation's ability to be self-sufficient. There are other benefits of growing local food, too.

"There were a lot of ward members who had never grown a garden in their life," Erickson said. "Another thing I think was critical was teaching the youth to work." He noted that ward members built a large sieve, for lack of a better word, and sifted rocks out of tons of soil to improve the garden plot, which had never been cultivated before and had lain fallow for decades.

Children from "the Primary came out and picked rocks," he said.

Several hundred dollars worth of produce were sold at the Pleasant Grove farmers market by volunteer Sherri Price.

The proceeds will be used to buy garden supplies and pay expenses.

"The Lord blessed us. You can't believe how much food came out of that garden," Price said. "It went to everyone in the ward who needed it, and then some. ... The bishop not only wanted us to learn to garden, but he didn't want us to waste one bean. There are all kinds of things you learn when gardening, and not to be wasteful is one thing."

Shirley Stone, 80, owns the land. She and her husband, Chester, who died in June, purchased the hilltop land above their home in 1956, wanting to protect their view of the mountains.

They planted fruit trees there, and trimmed the weeds, but never planted a garden.

"When the Bishop asked if they could use it for a ward garden, I thought it was the most wonderful idea," she said.