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Thieves raid garden at Boys & Girls Club of Elgin

Children and staff members of the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin were left heartbroken after thieves raided the vegetable garden they worked on so hard all summer.

"The kids were crying," Club President and CEO Cathy Malkani said of the theft reported to police Tuesday morning. "They've been working on this for so many months, putting so much time and effort into it. It breaks my heart."

The thieves took about 50 pounds worth of potatoes, onions, cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, squash and even sunflowers. They also stole a hose and compost, leaving behind only herbs and a popcorn plant that's not ready yet, said program specialist Katie Meyer.

Natalia Ruiz, 9, a member of the Boys & Girls garden club, said she was really sad. "I love the garden because we get to have fun," she said. Fellow club member Coral Lopez, 10, agreed. "We get to help Miss Katie plant, and water the plants, and pick up the plants that are already ready."

Everything the garden yields is used to feed the kids while teaching them about cooking and nutrition, Meyer said. "We made zucchini muffins and a salad with a vinaigrette," she said. "We were going to roast the sunflower seeds and make French onion soup."

The garden sits behind the club at 355 Dundee Ave. on city-owned land off Ann Street and Dundee Avenue that the club leases for $1 per year. It is among 17 gardens that are part of the Elgin Community Garden Network, whose mission is to teach sustainable skills and feed the hungry.

The garden program has grown tremendously over the last year, and teen members of the club helped care for the 12 raised beds over the summer, Meyer said. During the school year, it's mostly kids up to sixth grade who do that.

First to disappear about two weeks ago was a pumpkin that the kids had been watching grow, followed by sporadic disappearances and finally the big heist Tuesday.

"Obviously we hope that if somebody has information, or possibly didn't know it was a private garden, that they would come forward," Deputy Police Chief Bill Wolf said.

Mayor David Kaptain said he's meeting with club representatives Friday to talk about what can be done to prevent future thefts.

Building a fence and a shed for tools would be a tremendous help, Malkani said. The club has materials for a fence and is looking into the purchase of materials for a shed, and hopes volunteers will help with construction, she added.

"We put a ton of resources into it," Malkani said. "We have a commercial-sized kitchen and we serve hot meals every day. Our goal is to provide healthy meals for the kids with the farm-to-table approach. We wanted to give them meals ultimately with 50 percent fresh fruit and vegetables."

  Thieves left an inspirational stone in the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin garden but took all the vegetables. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Natalia Ruiz, 9, left, Valeria Bedoya, 9, and Cora Lopez, 10, are frustrated that someone stole all the vegetables from the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin garden, which they helped care for. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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