Peekskill Area Pastors Association Harvests Hope in Yorktown Garden

A priest, a rabbi, a reverend and a master gardener walk into a fenced plot of land. Rather than launching a bad joke, these men have come to assess the autumn bumper crop of eggplants and squash at the Garden of Hope that will feed hungry neighbors who rely on food banks. Using land donated by the Church of the Nazarene on Whitehill Road in Yorktown Heights, this hunger initiative is entering the homestretch of its first growing season.

Franciscan Friar of the Atonement Father John Keane, SA, of Graymoor in Garrison, is Chairman of the Hunger Committee for the Peekskill Area Pastors Association (PAPA). He was pleased with the Garden of Hope’s progress. “This first year started a little late while we waited for town permits,” said Fr. John. “Yet, we have had a great beginning and are preparing the ground to more than double the number of 100 feet long beds for 2015.”

PAPA is a group of local pastors from various faiths that has been meeting to solve social problems for decades. This interfaith group, currently presided over by Rabbi Lee Paskind of the First Hebrew Congregation in Peekskill, decided to tackle food insecurity in the area. The group kicked off its effort with a screening of the documentary, A Place at the Table. Rabbi Paskind said, “The film made it clear that hunger in America is not a lower class phenomenon any more, it is a middle class issue. We have a group of hardworking people who can’t afford to put food on their tables. We wanted to raise that issue for the community to understand in both a practical and a political sense.” That drove the effort for local congregations to launch a Garden of Hope to provide a local food bank, Fred’s Place in Peekskill, with fresh produce during the growing season.

Rev. Dr. Ron Pankey, Pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Yorktown Heights, offered land, the group sought town permits, and volunteers got busy plowing, prepping, planting and harvesting. “We are called to feed the hungry by our faith. One in seven Americans turns to food banks for nutrition, and because of this staggering statistic, the Congregation of the Church of the Nazarene felt it was important to support local food banks and hunger initiatives by offering a 1.5 acres to cultivate for this purpose. During Lent we had some parishioners take the food stamp challenge, which is $1.60 per person per meal. That was a lesson in the reality that people on food stamps cannot afford nutrient rich fresh vegetables.”

Expert gardener Robert Conroy manages the day-to-day operation of the garden and has done all the planning. “We planted autumn butternut squash because it has a good shelf life and the food banks can hold them longer for distribution into the cold season,” he said. “By August we had already given 125 pounds of green beans and other vegetables to Fred’s Pantry.” The expansion of the number of cultivated rows will let the Garden of Hope expand its distribution to Westchester’s County Harvest.

The Garden of Hope welcomes all neighbors, whether they are part of a faith group or simply concerned about others to volunteer their time or financially support this effort. Please contact Rev. Dr. Ron Pankey at 914-245-4718. You can visit Peekskill Area Pastors Association Facebook page for updates on their hunger initiative.