Volunteers gathered last weekend to plant fresh produce plants in the soil of The Garden of Giving in Saylorsburg.

“Volunteers are always welcome, and any amount of time they can spend working on the garden is appreciated,” said Tammy Graeber, the garden’s founder.

This past weekend was one of the times they needed all the volunteers they could get. The planting needs to be done as soon as possible due to the short growing season.

The Garden of Giving, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, was started in 2008 by Tammy Graeber to help provide fresh, nutritious food for families using food pantries without access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

“I looked at what the food banks were handing out to families and realized that what the families received mainly was processed food,” she said.

A growing need

Since the garden’s beginning 13 years ago and the first harvest in 2009, the garden has increased from a half-acre plot to over 3 acres.

The first harvest in 2009 yielded 1,500 pounds of produce that Graeber donated to the Supplemental Food Resource Center.

Graeber said as the garden expanded far beyond the original size, the need for healthy, nutritious food in Monroe County has also grown.

Partnering with local agencies, farms, churches and schools to help complete projects such as clearing land, putting up fences, planting, weeding and harvesting has allowed the garden to expand to help meet the need.

Graeber welcomes volunteers to the garden and said, “We always need help planting, weeding, harvesting, packaging food for the food banks and delivering food to participating food banks.”

“I just consider it free exercise,” said volunteer JoAnn Scott.

Visit www.thegardenofgiving.org for more information if you would like to volunteer.