School Sisters of Notre Dame Associates
Living out the works of mercy in their everyday life

Feeding the hungry - Green Hope Gardens

Associates and sisters – Ohio and West Virginia
By Sister Joan Marie Van Beek and Associate Wayne Fontaine

Sisters and associates at May 2015 covenanting in Belpre, Ohio.

Sister Mariel Kreuziger at the dedication of the garden in May 2012.

Associates Joan and Wayne Fontaine planting a tomato in a raised bed.

In 2010, during monthly associate meetings, Sisters Mariel Kreuziger and Henrita Gonia and the associates in Ohio and West Virginia reflected on what they might do to feed the hungry, bring comfort to those in need, provide nourishment for the hungry spirit and be good stewards of the land entrusted to us.

They identified the land surrounding St. Ambrose Church in Little Hocking, Ohio, as a perfect site for multiple garden boxes. They spoke to St. Ambrose Parish Council and easily obtained their permission and enthusiastic support to build four 20-by-3-foot garden boxes. Sisters, associates and friends from the parish planted, weeded, harvested and shared all the vegetables with the local food pantry, Belpre Area Ministries. In 2011, four more boxes were built.

Each year the harvest provides fresh vegetables to clients of the food bank, a healthy supplement to the canned goods received during the winter months.

Satellite imagery shows the mediation path, 4 mediation points and 8 raised beds of Green Hope Gardens.

Wayne and Joan Fontaine with Sisters Joan Marie Van Beek and Lauretta Rose Koscielniak.

In 2015, Green Hope Gardens produced a harvest of beans (20 pounds), sweet peppers (55), zucchini (124) regular tomatoes (157), cucumbers (312), carrots (529), and golden cherry tomatoes (8,934 -- yes, we counted them!).

In 2015, the dream of a meditation path meandering around the garden boxes became a reality. With the help of the parish Knights of Columbus, this path with four meditation points and four stone benches was built. These markers encourage the walker to relax, take in the beauty of the gardens and ponder the meditation points.

Feeding the hungry has grown from an idea into a reality, with the investment of time, sweat equity and some aching backs.