You probably know the little brick church at the corner of Inwood Road and Mockingbird Lane. The Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle has stood at that corner for more than 50 years. This church, once surrounded by sleepy countryside, is now a cityscape landmark in our neighborhood.
What many neighbors may not know about, however, is the small garden next to the church. It has been there less than a year, tucked away near the back of the plot. This is where, on any given Saturday, you’ll find a handful of neighbors tilling earth and tending to thick stalks of okra or leafy green bushes of basil.
All of this food is being grown for local charity.
“We believe we’re supposed to take our mission outside our four little church walls,” says Vicki Williams, a St. Thomas member who volunteers regularly. “We come out here and work in the garden, and we go home hot and tired — but we feel satisfied because we know that our work has helped someone.”
That work, in fact, has helped put more than 2,500 pounds of food on the tables of people in need. The church donates its harvests to the food banks of the North Dallas Shared Ministries and the Resource Center of Dallas.
Fresh produce like this is especially important to food banks because they rarely receive it, says Rafael McDonnell, programs manager at the Resource Center of Dallas.
“Receiving herbs is especially rare, but all fresh produce is so important because it gives our clients variety and nutrition,” he says. “Plus there’s a certain degree of independence they gain from being able to go home and cook their own meals.”
The St. Thomas congregation began the garden in an effort to help reach the Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations to reduce worldwide poverty and hunger.
“We had this vacant land just sitting here, so we figured we could at least use it to do some good by fighting hunger here in our neighborhood,” says Harry Anderson, who serves as the church’s senior warden. “We figured we’d at least try and see what happened.”
So Anderson and a group of church volunteers got to work, conditioning the soil and drawing plot lines.
“When this all started, I knew how to go out and buy vegetables at the store, but I didn’t know the first thing about growing them.”
But with the help of a few resident green thumbs, and a good dose of trial and error, the garden has come to life. Standing in the middle of this small farmland oasis, it’s hard to imagine that this land was barren just months ago. There are emerald rows of lettuce, zucchinis the size of hoagies, and bright red peppers ripe on the vine.
And while the garden’s primary purpose is to fight local hunger, the St. Thomas congregation hopes it will grow into more than that: The members hope this garden will one day be a community garden where all sorts of Preston Hollow neighbors gather.
In an effort to draw in more of those nearby neighbors, the church has started renting private garden plots. There are 16 private plots that rent for $30 per year, which covers the cost of watering. The church asks that 10 percent of whatever is grown on these plots is donated to the church or a charity of gardeners’ choosing.
“We would love to see this become a community garden in the true sense of the word,” Williams says. “We would love for this to be a gathering place where everyone in the neighborhood can come together to help a good cause and built a strong sense of community.”
