Posted: February 19, 2024
As reported from the Local News section of Delaware County's Daily Times e-edition
Delicious garden-fresh veggie kabobs
"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." The Penn State Extension Master Gardeners' Seed to Supper Program (S2S) adheres to this same philosophy, S2S is a beginning gardening program that provides novice adult gardeners with all of the information and tools they need to grow a portion of their own food on a budget.
Participants also benefit from related workshops and demonstrations on topics such as cooking and preserving fruits and vegetables.
The 2023 S2S program, held over the summer at Yeadon Library, had 10 participants.
Of the 10, seven continued to garden at the library after formal S2S classes ended. The community gardeners' efforts yielded a bounty of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, kale, and corn. All of the seeds sown in the garden were propagated by Delaware County Master Gardeners at their greenhouse in Smedley Park. The garden harvest was shared with people in the community who picked up produce at the library.
The 2023 S2S group also put together a recipe book highlighting how to cook the harvested fruits and vegetables. Crustless zucchini pie, kale salad with pears and almonds, and rhubarb blondies are just a few of the recipes included in the book.
The Home Depot in Yeadon generously donated supplies for the garden, plus a representative from the store helped work at the garden.
Seed to Supper offers more than just a garden education and improved access to healthy foods. It also provides learners with transformative experiences that combat food insecurity and build community.
Monica Hughes, a Yeadon resident who participated in the 2023 program, says she started classes not knowing many of the other participants.
"By sitting in classes together, we built relationships, and now I know more of my neighbors," she shared.
Hughes also signed up to become a Master Gardener and is currently in the process of completing her training. She plans to work at Yeadon Library's S2S garden next summer as well.
Master Gardeners are looking to expand the program beyond growing spring and summer crops to also growing a second crop in the Fall. Master Gardeners will partner with any interested organization to deliver S2S educational programming and to expand an existing program's reach, especially to underserved populations.
For more information or to start a Seed to Supper program garden at your site in 2025, contact Holly Thorpe at hat5041@psu.edu or 610-690-7669.
The Penn State Master Gardener Program is sponsoring an upcoming Zoom session on "Why Won't My Plant Bloom? Thrive? Grow? Survive?" on Saturday, March 9 and has a wide variety of live and Zoom activities planned for 2024.
To learn more about this valuable resource to the Delaware County community, visit our Facebook or Instagram pages.
To read this article directly in the Daily Times, follow this link then scroll down to "Penn State Master Gardener's Seed to Supper Program Strengthens Community".
