Neighbor News
St. Stephen’s Samaritan Garden: Integral Part of Church’s Outreach
The mission of St. Stephen's garden ministry is to feed the hungry while raising hunger awareness.
Since 2016 St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church has counted among its outreach missions a garden ministry, whose mission is to feed the hungry in Ridgefield and the greater Ridgefield Community, while raising hunger awareness. The ministry’s centerpiece is the Samaritan Garden, an all-organic sustainable garden located behind the church at 353 Main Street. Andy Robertson, a parishioner and currently junior warden of the St. Stephen’s Vestry, was the prime motivator behind the ministry.
The garden’s 10 interior raised beds are leased to parishioners and friends of the church. Produce from the large perimeter beds, maintained by garden ministry volunteers, are donated to Ridgefield’s Meals on Wheels (MOW). From the harvest of the 2025 season, which just ended, donations to MOW totaled 117 pounds tomatoes, 48 pounds green and yellow beans, 52 pounds cucumbers, 9 pounds peppers and many bunches of curly and Italian parsley. The produce is delivered washed and ready to use. Only the best is selected for MOW, and nothing goes to waste: Other usable produce is given to appreciative recipients.
All garden ministry volunteers work closely as a team, but Eileen Burton has been key to the garden’s success since becoming a volunteer in 2018. Although she doesn’t carry a title, Eileen acts as manager, advisor and team cheerleader. She is a highly experienced horticulturist, who has taught organic gardening for Ridgefield Continuing Education, and is a former Horticultural Manager for a large non-profit organization.
Volunteers were important to the creation of the garden. John Carlson and his team from Homefront Farmers, a Ridgefield company that designs and builds organic gardens, donated expertise and time to help plan and build it, and parishioner Stef Karlson of Arborscape donated the use of heavy equipment and helped with construction. This October marks a new garden milestone: Young’s Fencing of Ridgefield will replace and upgrade the fencing around the garden.
