Palatine church produce ministry celebrates 10 years

The Presbyterian Church of Palatine quietly celebrated a milestone this summer: Members have been growing vegetables in their large garden beds for 10 years now, and donating all of the produce to the Palatine Township food pantry.

“It's wonderful,” says Barbara Walsh, food pantry coordinator. “I'm amazed at the commitment of this church.”

Lyn Nawrot and Mark Hamlen, both of Palatine, started the garden on the northeast corner of the church grounds, visible to motorists passing along Palatine and Rohlwing roads. Nawrot continues to serve as coordinator of the garden ministry.

What started with a pair of beds now includes eight raised beds and produces nearly 500 pounds of vegetables each summer.

Crops include lettuce, radishes, sugar snap peas, beans, banana peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, onions, Brussels sprouts, rhubarb, and herbs such as cilantro, dill and garlic.

Nawrot and her volunteers typically bring donations twice a week to the food pantry, where their vegetables are eagerly scooped up by visiting guests.

Palatine Township's food pantry serves approximately 375 families per month, who live in Palatine, Inverness, Hoffman Estates and a portion of Rolling Meadows.

“Our guests love choosing from all the vegetables,” Walsh says. “When money is tight, it's the fresh produce that is the first to go.”

The Palatine church members also grow watermelon and pumpkins, which they donate to the food pantry and to the early learning program of the John Conyers Learning Academy in Rolling Meadows.

Roughly a dozen members of the congregation help care for the garden and its crops, and their enthusiasm is contagious.

Members of the New Elim Church, a Korean American congregation which shares space in the Palatine church, partner in the ministry, and officials with neighboring Palatine Elementary District 15's Winston Campus are talking about taking over one of the garden beds.

Earlier this month, children attending vacation Bible school at the Palatine church helped to harvest some of its produce.

They got to pick one of the cucumbers, washed it and tasted it, before exploring the yellow crookneck squash and its bumpy skin.

The Rev. Teri Peterson, pastor of the church at 800 E. Palatine Road, said working in the garden fit in with their weeklong mission of raising money to feed children in a village in Ghana.

“Here, we're explaining about what we do to provide food for local, hungry children,” she said.

In her third year as pastor, Peterson says the congregation's garden was one of the ministries that attracted her to the church.

“It's one of the best things we do,” Peterson said. “It's such a good use of the land and a way for us to serve locally.”

As a congregation, she adds, their core story is the Biblical parable of the loaves and the fishes.

“The garden and its vegetables fit right in with our core story and our understanding of ourselves,” Peterson adds. “We serve God by serving others and our neighborhood. We're very much about local mission.”