Courtesy photo

Garden lovers — and anyone else who would like to help — are being asked to volunteer at Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry’s new community garden located in northern Utah County. The garden will provide fresh produce for those who are food-insecure. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often a luxury for those who are struggling financially. This community garden will be able to ensure that many more residents get the healthy food that they need.

“Tabitha’s Way North needs your helping hands! We’re looking for volunteers to help maintain our community garden — a vital source of fresh food for those in need,” states a recent post on the Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry North County Facebook page.

We don’t have to be garden lovers or expert gardeners to help out. Volunteers can help pull weeds, plant and water plants, work with irrigation, maintain paths and manage compost. The food that is grown at the garden will then be taken to Tabitha’s Way food pantries for clients who are struggling to put food on the table.

The main plants that will be grown are tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, according to Kara Smith, community relations representative for Tabitha’s Way.

If you are someone who plants your own garden, you can help as well. Tabitha’s Way is asking gardeners to grow a row for good. Planting an extra row or two in the garden and then donating that produce to the pantry can ensure more people enjoy the health benefits that come with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Courtesy Jeremy Hall

Some gardeners “use a row, give a row.” They use every other row of fresh produce and donate the other rows. Other fun ways to donate fresh produce include having a neighborhood fresh produce scavenger hunt, hosting neighborhood block parties at which everyone brings a couple of items to donate, and putting an extra produce donation box in the neighborhood for people to drop off items. Don’t most people have an extra zucchini or two?

More than 150,000 individuals received food assistance last year through the three Tabitha’s Way locations in Utah County. Almost 7 million meals were distributed during that time. Volunteers provided about 23,000 hours of service.

If you would like to help out at the community garden, call Julie at 801-979-3676. Fresh produce and other food donations can also be dropped off at any Tabitha’s Way location in Spanish Fork, Pleasant Grove or Saratoga Springs. However, the Saratoga Springs location is a satellite location and cannot take large amounts of food at one time. Those can be dropped off at the other locations.

For more information about donating and volunteering at any location, go to tabithasway.org or check out the Tabitha’s Way social media pages.