Check out the cover story from the latest issue of Presbyterians Today. Reporter Darrin Youker shows how churches are addressing hunger in their communities with church gardens.
Presbyterian congregations are in the garden for a lot of reasons. They are donating the harvest food pantries or soup kitchens - which often don't have fresh produce - as part of their local hunger ministry. Congregations are reconnecting with the land while tending to Creation, and gardening builds community and strengthens the congregation. Also, children love gardens! Sometimes the best way to get kids to eat veggies is to show them how a carrot grows, and churches are tapping into this phenomenon.
The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) has a series of resources for adults and children called Just Eating: Practicing Our Faith at the Table that explores the relationship between the way we eat and the way we live.
Youker's article tells the story of four different Presbyterian churches (three of which PHP helped to start with the One Great Hour of Sharing offering), but we know that there are hundreds of other similar ministries across the country. Read the article and then let us know what your congregation is doing. Email php@pcusa.org or comment below.
Read the full article at http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/today/cover/. If you're subscribed to the magazine, you'll also notice Linda Valentine's column that talks about PHP's Heaven on Earth Agrarian Road Trip.
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