Landscaper's hobby puts food on many tables

After a hard day maintaining other people's lawns, Greg Toran relaxes in his own garden growing vegetables - and giving a good share of them away.

He takes mostly tomatoes, zucchini and Swiss chard to the People's Resource Center in Wheaton. The food pantry there is one of many throughout the suburbs participating in the Daily Herald's Giving Garden program, which encourages gardeners to donate extra produce for people who need food.

Toran's choices of what to give are pretty practical.

Zucchini grows abundantly, and most gardeners soon run out of neighbors to give it to, but it's happily accepted at the food pantry, said Toran. So now when he sees extra room in his garden he plants zucchini. Swiss chard is a selection because it doesn't take up much room, said the gardener.

And the tomatoes he gives away are usually green ones that will not have time to ripen near the end of the season because he keeps the red ones and makes tomato juice for winter cooking.

"Different cultures do things with green tomatoes," he said. "When I bring them over there they disappear quickly, and I'm glad to see somebody use them."

Tim Richter, food market supervisor at the People's Resource Center, said 1,700 families got food at the center in July, and they will miss the fresh produce in the winter.

"They really like getting the produce, especially things like zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers. Sometimes we have fun trying to convince people to try kohlrabi," he said.

For several years Toran has made a few trips each week to the pantry. His best year he donated almost 1,000 pounds of produce.

His nieces and nephews help in the garden and appreciate the rhubarb muffin tops and chocolate zucchini cake made from the fruit of their labor.

"I enjoy the garden, planting seeds and seeing things come up out of the ground," said Toran. "You put work in the garden and you get something back out of it."

Toran shared his favorite recipe for chocolate zucchini cake.