Generations at work in the Garden of Hope
With a song and a prayer, the congregation welcomed its newest residents to Beth Tikvah Congregation in Hoffman Estates. Two cases of worms, purchased from a local bait shop, earned a reprieve from the fate of becoming fish food and were welcomed to their new home in the Gan Tikvah Garden of Hope.
Eagerly, more than a dozen children ages 3 and older, welcomed the guests and their role in helping to distribute them among the growing plants. Some held on to the worms gingerly, letting them wiggle and squirm between their small muddy hands before setting them in a perfect spot. In between rows of snap peas, under the canopy of large fresh leafy kale, the large worms wriggled in the freshly watered garden beds.
“Gardening is all about getting dirty,” explained Talia, age 7.
The return of Worm Day in the garden proved a popular and fun reason to roll up sleeves and play in the dirt. For more than 10 years, the members and friends of Jewish house of worship have planted, cared for and harvested an array of fresh vegetables to support those in need. All the produce grown in the garden is donated to a local WINGS shelter and the Schaumburg Food Pantry, explained congregation member Becky Fiedler.
The garden project is a part of the congregation’s social action committee which aims to fulfill the mission of Tikun Olam the Jewish teaching of repairing the world by feeding the hungry.
“The main goal is to get as many people of different ages here,” Fiedler said, “The second goal is to feed as many people as possible.”
Moving into July, the harvest yields are beginning to grow, with more than 37 pounds of squash and nearly 80 pounds of produce collected in the first week of July. Fiedler explained the introduction of worms to the garden in the middle of the growing season serves to help add extra nutrients to the soil for the growing vegetables and it has become a fun tradition that brings out many of the youngest congregation members from its Early Childhood Center.
A congregation member purchased two containers, totaling more than 1,000 worms from a local bait shop in Palatine and after storing them at her home for the night, brings them to the garden for Worm Day. The worms burrow into the garden beds and soil around thriving tomato plants, onions, beets and carrots.
While the children took to the role of placing worms around the garden, the teens and adults were busy harvesting from the snap peas, beans and squash. The vegetables are chosen based on their ability to grow in abundance and provide the best nutrition.
“Beets are a really good source of iron and that’s important for healing,” Fiedler explained, adding how years ago, someone from WINGS thanked her for the beets and told her how important they were to the women recovering at the center.
“I said ok, I am going to keep growing beets,” Fiedler said.
One garden bed is devoted to snap peas and Fiedler explained how in the grocery store, snap peas are a costly item. They grow abundantly in the garden. This is valuable to provide a vegetable that might not otherwise be available at the food pantry. Fiedler said the vegetables are gone within hours of distribution to thankful clients, according to her contacts at the food pantry.
The temple members begin preparing the garden in April and rely on volunteers to help water during the week and help with the Sunday harvest, weeding and watering. Dr. Anna Hegge and her young son and daughter have been regulars at the garden this summer.
“The kids like it and it gets them outside and it’s a wholesome activity for a good cause,” Hegge said, adding that it’s also been a chance to learn some tips for her own tomato garden at home.
As the volunteers work, Fiedler can be heard explaining to a child how to know if the shishito pepper is ripe and when a child accidentally pulled a bit too much of the plant she was there to quickly brush off worries.
“Gardens are tough, you can’t hurt a garden,” she said in a reassuring tone.