By: Leo Boshardy
Community Gardens with the GardenWorks Project
Students from COD’s Culinary Arts program recently partnered with the GardenWorks Project of Wheaton to host the annual Harvest Against Hunger event in the Homeland Security Education Center’s Street Scene, located on the College’s Glen Ellyn Campus.The fundraising event on Oct. 14 featured student-prepared dishes with locally grown produce from the Project’s community gardens and the College’s Fuel Pantry. The event also included live music and a raffle benefiting the Project.
“The GardenWorks Project mission made a strong connection to what we do, because helping the community with access to healthy food options is important to us,” said COD Associate Professor of Culinary Arts David Kramer. “We work very closely with the Fuel Pantry and Fuel Garden on campus, and we discuss with our students the importance of helping their community.”
The GardenWorks Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating food insecurity in the western suburbs of Chicago. It provides resources and education in the local community to help individuals and families grow their own food. In addition, the Project also operates a network of community gardens that provide fresh produce to those in need.
The Fuel Pantry provides free food and personal care items to students, staff and faculty at COD, while the Fuel Garden supports the pantry with 13 raised garden beds, 13 growing beds and six hydroponic tower gardens on campus.
GardenWorks provides weekly donations to area food pantries from excess harvests as well as weekly work-and-learn sessions to help educate local gardeners. According to Executive Director Teri Wood, this helps to address food insecurity in the community.
“Partnering with COD to raise awareness and funding for those facing food insecurity in our community has been a very rewarding and successful experience for the GardenWorks Project,” Wood said. “Every year, our Harvest Against Hunger fundraiser has gotten better and better, due in large part to the time and talent of Chefs David Kramer and Laura Lerdal and Conference and Event Specialist Jennifer Charles.”
The Harvest Against Hunger event at COD is a popular attraction for gardeners and food enthusiasts alike at the College, such as Health Sciences Instructor Cindy Fish.
“Over the last five years, I’ve witnessed an amazing effort to inform as well as educate and grow produce for individuals, families and food pantries that otherwise would not have fresh produce,” Fish said. “The Culinary Team prepared delicious and healthy food and the live band provided beautiful music. It was great hospitality.”