TheGardenTalks: Soul Food

Church of the Pacific Food Pantry Gives Away More Than Food (Part II)

"The first thing we give away is aloha, then love, then food." John Burkhouse, Po’oku Community Garden Coordinator.

For one day every week an incredible abundance of food and good people come together to be sure that their community on the north shore of Kaua‘i is fed. For this group it’s not important who you are, how much or how little money you have. No one is standing there to check your credentials and decide if you need food. All you need to do is show up and share in the generosity and hospitality of the Church of the PacificFood Pantry.

It’s been just six months since I last visited Po‘oku Community Garden (see story here) and the garden has grown up to match the vision of its hardest workers, Gabrielle Pla and John Burkhouse. Several fantastic boons have fallen in the path of the garden -– garden angels they might be called. The first is Kevin, a former participant in the pantry who now dedicates his time to creating an organic garden filled with abundant, sustainable produce. Kevin takes the Kaua‘i Community College Growing Food Seminar Series and uses the Po‘oku Community Garden to employ new ideas from the class topped with his own gardening know-how. He is a big advocate of companion planting and uses plants that help each other out to get the nutrition they need. For example, he grew corn for the pantry and planted pole beans at the end of the season allowing them to ramble over the dying stalks and use the old corn as a prop while they decompose. Corn is a heavy nitrogen user and beans will put nitrogen right back in the soil.

Strawberries and chocolate mint; what a delicious sounding combination. Well, it’s not only delicious to the palate but the mint Kevin says, “especially chocolate mint -– deters ants and of course ants love strawberries.” Basil and oregano intercropped with kale and leafy greens helps keep some of the nibblers away. And so it goes.

The garden is based on permaculture methods, and organic practices with the goal of becoming all organic. They don’t use chemical pesticides or herbicides — only natural methods are employed. A gift of synthetic fertilizer was donated to the garden and they use that sparingly. Once it is gone they will use only organic. They also rely on crop rotation; if they plant a heavy feeder directly after that they will plant a heavy depositor or nitrogen fixer such as cowpeas or another legume.

Another big boon to the garden was the selection by the North Shore Lions Club as the recipient of a Weinberg Foundation Grant and 100 volunteer hours. At the end of June over 60 people joined together to create the expanded garden, with irrigation. The group plowed and tilled and planted the rows of crops. In just three weeks they are already harvesting from the new area.
Volunteers talk about the garden saying the best thing is, “we feed a lot of people.” Currently 230 to 250 people participate in the food pantry every week. The lead team believes that if you don’t have the basics of good nutrition and health then how can you get a car, a phone, a home or a job? They offer a helping hand along with a basket of nutrient packed foods.

John talks about his philosophy of volunteering and the intention of creating a place filled with the spirit of giving:

“Be here if you want to. Come and join us in doing something good for the community. It’s not about money; it’s not about the church it’s not even about food. It is about sharing from the heart.”

Volunteers interested in doing some Good Samaritan work are always welcome. Call Gabrielle at 808-639-2146 to join in on pantry day or to help in the gardens….all produce is grown for the giveaway programs.

(This is Part Two of a three-part series on the Po‘oku Community Garden. Part One appeared in the last (July) newsletter, and Part Three will appear in a future issue)

TheGardenTalks is brought to you by Colleen Carroll, Director and C.E.O. of NatureTalks. Colleen lives on Kaua’i and gives inspirational presentations on gardening. The most popular presentation is The Power of Plants to Transform Community.To see more of NatureTalks stories on gardens and gardeners see the book, It’s About More than Trees.  Colleen created NatureTalks to connect people with nature. This report is reprinted with kind permission from Colleen’s website NatureTalks.