Facebook IconInstagram IconSpotify
 

Feeding the hungry - Green Hope Gardens

Associates logoSchool Sisters of Notre Dame Associates

Living out the works of mercy in their everyday life


By Sister Joan Marie Van Beek and Associate Wayne Fontaine - Ohio and West Virginia

Sisters and associates at May 2015 covenanting in Belpre, OhioSisters and associates at May 2015 covenanting in Belpre, Ohio.

Sister Mariel Kreuziger at the dedication of the garden May 2012
Sister Mariel Kreuziger at the dedication of the garden in May 2012.
Associates Joan and Wayne Fontaine have been the driving force behind Green Hope Garden in Belpre, OH.  The produce from this garden is given to the local food bank.
Associates Joan and Wayne Fontaine planting a tomato in a raised bed.

In 2010, during monthly associate meetings, Sisters Mariel Kreuziger and Henrita Gonia and the associates in Ohio and West Virginia reflected on what they might do to feed the hungry, bring comfort to those in need, provide nourishment for the hungry spirit and be good stewards of the land entrusted to us.

They identified the land surrounding St. Ambrose Church in Little Hocking, Ohio, as a perfect site for multiple garden boxes. They spoke to St. Ambrose Parish Council and easily obtained their permission and enthusiastic support to build four 20-by-3-foot garden boxes. Sisters, associates and friends from the parish planted, weeded, harvested and shared all the vegetables with the local food pantry, Belpre Area Ministries. In 2011, four more boxes were built.

Each year the harvest provides fresh vegetables to clients of the food bank, a healthy supplement to the canned goods received during the winter months.

Satellite imagery shows the mediation path, 4 mediation points and 8 raised beds of Green Hope Gardens.
Satellite imagery shows the mediation path, 4 mediation points and 8 raised beds of Green Hope Gardens.

In 2015, Green Hope Gardens produced a harvest of beans (20 pounds), sweet peppers (55), zucchini (124) regular tomatoes (157), cucumbers (312), carrots (529), and golden cherry tomatoes (8,934 -- yes, we counted them!).

In 2015, the dream of a meditation path meandering around the garden boxes became a reality. With the help of the parish Knights of Columbus, this path with four meditation points and four stone benches was built. These markers encourage the walker to relax, take in the beauty of the gardens and ponder the meditation points.

Feeding the hungry has grown from an idea into a reality, with the investment of time, sweat equity and some aching backs.

 
Related stories:
  • How the SSND spirit has resonated throughout my life Christina Perez Topasna, an SSND associate, shares her professional, personal and spiritual journey from postulancy to SSND associate. Christina shared, “I find that being an SSND associate is a welcomed extension and meaningful link to those years I was with the SSND religious community. Our actions, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant we think they are, do have an impact on those around us.” Read more...
  • Teaching those in need As a member of St. Michael parish in Milwaukee, I have had the fortune to volunteer in the English as a second language (ESL) program, teaching English to Karen people from Burma. My SSND companion, Sister Lillia Langreck, previously ran an ESL program at St. Michael helping Hmong, Laotian and Cambodian people when they arrived from refugee camps in the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's. Read more...
  • Associates build extended communities SSND associates are located across the United States and around the world. United in a desire to live out the spirit and mission of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the associates are lay women and men who better their communities in their own ways. Read more...
 

Want to learn more?

*
*
*

School Sisters of Notre Dame

320 East Ripa Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63125

Phone: 314-561-4100

info@ssndcp.org

 

© 2022 School Sisters of Notre Dame

Donate
Events
News