FOUNDATIONS

of CATHOLIC HEALTH CARE LEADERSHIP

AVAILABLE ON- DEMAND AND LIVE

Leaders in Catholic health care recognize the crucial importance of formation in ensuring the Catholic identity of our ministries. In response to member needs, CHA is offering Foundations On-Demand as a sister program to Foundations Live.

Foundations On-Demand

ALWAYS AVAILABLE

The program is ideal for those who have difficulty getting away from their work to attend a scheduled program. A local dialogue partner supports On-Demand participants as they work at their own pace.

Foundations Live

JAN. 30 — MARCH 21, 2024 dation provided the money to pay for the work needed to create the plots. The plots have an irrigation system, so volunteers do not need to haul water into the garden.

Foundations Live is an interactive eight-week (virtual) program. Engage in meaningful dialogue with ministry colleagues from your system and across the country.

Deterring intruders

It was slow going at first. Elliot said the garden initially was not fenced in. And being in a deer-heavy part of the state, that meant the wildlife was helping itself to the plants. The open nature of the site also allowed for vandals to disturb the garden. At one point, someone drove a car through. In total, the garden produced less than 200 pounds of food in 2013.

There was a fix for both problems, though — a fence with a locked gate that now surrounds the garden. Over the next nine years, the garden produced more than 11 tons of food for local food pantries and food kitchens.

When the concept of the garden originally took shape, the hope was that families in need would claim a plot for a small fee that would be put into the upkeep. While that remains an option, and scholarships can cover the $20 garden fee, the hospital has found that the best use of the garden is to open the plots to volunteer gardeners. Those growers pay a $35 fee and then donate their crops to food pantries. The fees are reinvested in the garden, with some of the money used to buy new tools and the rest kept in a fund for use as needed.

Volunteers are able to drop off their harvest at the hospital, where staff take the food to nearby food kitchens and food pantries. Which of the places gets the food depends on whether they are open on the day of the donation and how much they can take.

Trial and error

One of the volunteers at the garden is Cathy Lombard. She said she has always had a love of gardening.

The first year Lombard gardened one plot, but she enjoyed it and increased her growing space. At one point she tended as many as seven plots. For now, she’s gardening five.

She said there has been some trial and error over the years. Once chipmunks dug into her plots. However, she quickly discovered that chipmunks don’t like Irish Spring soap. Putting some soap into the holes kept the critters away.

She has experimented with the foods she has grown and donated, learning that those who receive the foods can be quite adventurous in what they enjoy. One year she attempted to grow kidney beans only to find that the summer heat made them too bitter.

‘A nice service’

Lombard and the other growers aren’t the garden’s only volunteers. Years ago, a Boy Scout built a shed for the garden as a part of his Eagle Scout project. The shed allows tools and other gardening supplies to be kept on site. The shed is accessible with the same key that is used to get inside the garden fence. The scout raised money to build the shed and used what was left over to buy tools so no one has to bring their own to the garden.

The garden has grown to include a small apple orchard. A local group prunes the trees. Two Honeycrisp trees are recent additions. Two beehives in the garden pollinate the plants to increase sustainability.

Lombard pointed out that, given the high incidence of food insecurity in and around Chippewa Falls, it is likely that she and the other gardeners are growing food for some of their friends and neighbors.

“It is a nice service to provide to the community, so they have fresh vegetables,” Lombard said.

Questions?

Email formation@chausa.org or call 800-230-7823