Youth Volunteers Grow Veggies for the Needy

Since 2010, Marvin Makofsky and his Plant-a-Row for the Hungry initiative have been encouraging gardening to help solve the Port Washington community’s local hunger issues. Large colorfully painted plant pots filled with vegetable seedlings are “adopted” each year and placed throughout the community during the growing season. Volunteers harvest the vegetables and bring them to Bayles Garden Center for delivery to Our Lady of Fatima and St. Peter’s Outreach Centers for distribution to needy families.

Over the years, additional gardens began sprouting up (pun intended) in backyards, Helen Keller National Center, the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society Dodge House, Port Washington Adult Activities Center, Growing Love Community Garden, other locations in Port Washington. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in the amount of organic produce grown and donated to needy families through Fatima’s and St. Peter’s outreach efforts.

Early in 2020, with the assistance of Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Makofsky and Cornell Extension Master Gardener and founder of the Mosaic Foundation for Autism Laurie Murdock met with members of the board of County-owned Science Museum of Long Island (SMLI). They discussed their Summer Program to Fight Hunger and Climate Change concept and the possibility of converting a large swath of open property at SMLI into a garden to grow even more produce, this time enlisting teens and young adults. This past growing season, the garden at SMLI and other locations donated 5,000 pounds of fresh organic produce. Over the past ten years, Plant-a-Row gardens and individual families have harvested 35,000 pounds of produce for needy families.

A strong advocate for the environment, youth programs and nutrition, especially for the underserved, Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton was happy to facilitate this effort. “Today is a real day of hope for the future. Working with Marvin and everyone else involved in this important project has been incredible,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton said during a commendation ceremony held in October at SMLI. “This year in particular, it has been so rewarding to help with such a positive project. It is refreshing to see what people can accomplish when they work together. It is also reassuring to see young people work so passionately to help others, support wildlife, sustainability and our planet’s future.”

The Summer Program was organized ReWild Long Island President Raju Rajan. He interviewed and selected high school volunteers from Manhasset, Port Washington and other communities and led the team of young gardeners at the Dodge House. Although the interview and training process began online due to COVID-19 concerns, once the growing season began, the volunteers were eager to get to work in the garden during the 16-week program. “I hope this experience also encourages some of the students to seek career paths that support renewable energy, sustainability, “Rajan said. “I also hope you’ll remember 2020 for the sweat, sun, bugs, zucchini and what a wonderful experience you had. Know that your hard work helped grow organic food for the needy while also helping to reduce our carbon footprint.” Farm to table is not only fresher and healthier, but minimizing the distance food travels to reach consumers reduces carbon emissions and our carbon footprint.

Stella Spanakos and Brooke Mellett guided the Nicholas Center Navigators, a team of Autistic young adults who help the community in a variety of ways, in planting and caring for the 60 flats of seedlings that were started in the Center’s greenhouses. The Navigators and members of the Mosaic Foundation for Autism worked alongside the other young volunteers throughout the summer.

“Teaching young people about the value of growing ones own food is a wonderful lesson I’m sure they’ll cherish for their entire lives,” Marvin Makofsky Founder and Chief Vegetable Garden Executive of Plant-a-Row for the Hungry added. After Murdock presented all of the volunteers with citations and trowels personalized with their names, Makofsky thanked the Scotts Company, Frank Heffernan, Sweet Pea Nursery, Laurie Murdock, and artist Judy Doyle for their invaluable support.

Tanya Cluesner with Growing Love Community Garden and ReWild Long Island have been planting milkweed, which is the only food Monarch caterpillars eat, along with other plants the Monarch butterflies need. She recently released over 2,000 Monarch butterflies that had emerged from their chrysalides. Both groups are also focusing on expanding their pollinator gardens and creating a symbiotic relationship where bees have healthy living environments while also pollinating the gardens’ vegetables.

SMLI President Hildur Palsdottir spoke about the critical need to be climate conscious as we garden and implement farmland regeneration methods since the world’s farms only have about 60 harvests left based on current farming methods. She called the young volunteers our ‘Regeneration Generation’ since they will be the future stewards of the planet, creating ever more and novel ways to clean carbon from the atmosphere that goes far beyond simply drastically reducing carbon emissions.

Visit rewildlongisland.org/activities to learn more about the Summer Program to Fight Hunger and Climate Chance and the organization’s other programs, including how to get involved. Feel free to also contact the Legislator’s office about this or any other topic at 516-571-6211 or dderiggiwhitton@nassaucountyny.gov.