Dave Gibson, Nederland. When Hope Jordan drove her Prius through a snowstorm that stretched from Maryland to Nederland three years ago to begin a new chapter in her life, she had no plans of starting a community garden, but having been raised on a farm and participated in the Future Harvest Process Extension Program at the University of Maryland, knew she wanted to grow food. On a serendipitous Sunday two days after her arrival in town, she met Nederland Food Pantry Executive Director Chris Current at St. Rita’s Church and they began discussing the need for providing more fresh produce to the five hundred pantry recipients. It was a match made in heaven so to speak. As any good Catholic knows, St. Rita is the patron saint of impossible cases and suddenly the impossible became possible.

Shortly thereafter, radishes were being cultivated in the Plexyglass-covered breezeway adjacent to the food pantry in the Community Center. With the backing of grants from the Colorado Garden Foundation and Boulder Food Shed as “seed money,” Hope continued planting and hauling in organic soil from Magnolia Road. She currently devotes 2 – 3 hours of her expertise and labor every day to the cause and full days during the peak growing season. Raised plant beds now fill the breezeway space and surround the west wing. Solar panels provide heat and snowmelt or rainwater are collected and stored on-site to fulfill watering needs. Twenty-six plots are also being worked next to Middle Boulder Creek on First Street that are available to volunteers and community members.

The crops are grown year-round and on a Saturday at the end of February recently, Swiss chard, kale, arugula, parsley, and kohlrabi were harvested and walked a few steps to the pantry. During the summer, 100 lbs. of fresh produce is donated each week. Brussels sprouts, heirloom tomatoes, golden beets, spinach, snap peas, green beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, buttercrunch lettuce, zucchini, parsnips, lemon cucumbers, okra, chives, yellow crookneck squash, and strawberries is a partial list of what is offered at different times of year. There is even talk of canning pickles. Natural fertilizer is incorporated in the growing process and no pesticides or herbicides are used. Contingent upon funding, future plans include adding an irrigation system and solar-powered lights. Free seminars are conducted periodically to assist with the many challenges mountain gardeners face and ensure that their efforts are fruitful. High-altitude seeds, plant starts, containers, and soil is supplied to the public at no charge. 

The Nederland Food Pantry and Community Garden are dependent on the generosity of Coloradoans. Anyone seeking assistance or wanting to make a donation or volunteer their time is encouraged to visit www.NederlandFoodPantry.org. 

(Originally published in the March 12, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)