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Date: 8/3/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – Since 2013, East Longmeadow residents have enjoyed spending time outdoors, planting and seeing the literal fruits of their labor at the Community Gardens. This year, however, the cooperative spirit of the gardens has been tainted by theft.
Located at the Brown Farm Recreation Area, 64 Hampden Rd., the Community Gardens began as an agreement between the Friends of Brown Farm and the Board of Selectmen in 2013. After the volunteer-run structure of the project broke down, Recreation Department Director Donna Prather restarted the program in 2018 under the department’s oversight.
The garden contains 26 plots, which can be used for flowers, vegetables, fruits or other plants. The East Longmeadow Garden Club and the Eagle Scouts each planted a pollinator garden to attract bees, birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and small mammals.
In the early spring, residents can reserve a 25-foot square plot for $30 or a half-plot for $15. The East Longmeadow Rotary Club awarded the Community Garden with a grant this year, which allowed the Recreation Department to offer the plots for free. The grant also covered free gardening tools for the first 30 attendees of a gardening seminar this in April.
“It’s grown,” Prather said of the Community Garden and the number of gardeners who use it. “This is also the first year the garden has been this productive and advertised. The [East Longmeadow] Rotary Club, [Volunteer Coordinator] Sarah Marble and Ralph Page have generously been giving of [their] time and money toward the garden’s success.” She also noted that East Longmeadow Community Access Television (ELCAT) Director Don Maki created a video about the garden, which was posted to YouTube.com, allowing the public to become more aware of the garden.
“What made it so different this year was the involvement of the Rotary Club and the weather this year has been great,” Prather said, noting that last summer’s gardens were washed out by a rainier-than-usual season.
Prather is hoping that offering a gardening mentor program will encourage a social aspect to the Community Gardens. Those new to gardening can receive help and advice from people who have had more experience. Furthermore, Marble is planting potatoes and pumpkins for a shared harvest this fall.
Giving Garden
In addition to the individual plots and the couple of collaborative plots, in which gardeners work together, there is also a Giving Garden. The Giving Garden is a plot in which produce is grown for donation to the East Longmeadow Food Pantry. Over the season, hundreds of pounds of vegetables are donated.
Prather emphasized that the Giving Garden and Food Pantry are available to the entire town and not just seniors and acknowledged it can be confusing because of the pantry’s location at the Pleasant View Senior Center.
Theft
Prather and Marble believe that there has been produce stolen from the Giving Garden recently.
“Sarah mentioned that stuff was coming up missing,” Prather said. “This is my fifth year overseeing the gardens. This is the first year we’ve had a problem with theft. In the past, there might have been a few things missing but not to this extent. I want to think the best of people and maybe when they heard ‘Giving Garden,’ they got confused with how it works.”
Marble said in a Facebook post that community members work hard in the gardens, beginning in March. “They bring their extra produce and help with the Giving Garden. They weed and water and harvest in the heat. The Rotary Club, Page Landscaping, Meadowbrook Farm and AW Browns contribute to the efforts of the Giving Garden.”
She went on, “No one needs to steal from them or the Giving Garden. If you need veggies, contact me, or go to the Food Pantry. Those who steal from the personal gardens, or the Giving Garden, are taking far more than vegetables from our community.”
To reserve a plot at the Community Garden in the spring, contact the Recreation Department at https://eastlongmeadowma.myrec.com or 525-5437. To learn more about the East Longmeadow Food Pantry, call 525-5436 or visit https://www.eastlongmeadowma.gov/225/Community-Resources.