St. Christopher's Crops

Volunteer in the Garden

It’s time again to begin preparing and planting St. Christopher’s Crops! Join us for an hour on Sunday, May 16, immediately following the 10:00 a.m. worship service to bless and plant the garden.

We’ll have volunteer opportunities throughout the summer to weed and harvest the garden and deliver produce to food pantries. Look for a sign-up link on this page by mid-April.

What is St. Christopher's Crops?

St. Christopher’s Crops is a raised-bed vegetable garden located east of the Sanctuary and the Memorial Garden. The garden has provided fresh vegetables to local food pantries since 2007.

Each year the garden team plans the garden during the winter based on feedback from the food pantries and the needs of their clients. Seeds are then planted indoors under grow lights for some of the garden plants and others are purchased. Early in May, a workday is planned to prepare the beds for planting, and in mid-May, we bless and plant the garden. Throughout the summer, we weed the garden, and harvest and deliver the produce to local food pantries. In the fall, we have a garden clean-up day.

The garden offers a unique fellowship opportunity for volunteers of all ages to come together to share gardening experience and tips, learn from one another, and share a laugh or a concern in a beautiful, peaceful setting. We are growing community as well as vegetables. We hope you’ll join us in the garden this summer!

Interested in knowing more about St. Christopher's Crops? Contact Barbara Needleman or Ann Niednagel.

Feeding Ministry Partners

Each growing season, we provide produce from our garden to food pantries and food partners in Hamilton and Marion Counties. This year, we’ll be providing produce to: Carmel Friends Church; Carmel United Methodist Church Food Bank, and Merciful HELP Center at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.