Growing Together

Farmer’s Markets

By Chris Walker

The Plano Community Garden, Oswegoland Park District and Keller’s Farmstand are among those who continue to generously commit themselves to helping others by growing and delivering fresh produce to the Kendall County Community Food Pantry.

Dedicated to growing high-quality flowers, sweet corn, vegetables and fruit, including pumpkins and apples, the Keller family has been farming for five generations. Keller’s Farmstand helps serve those in need in Kendall County by donating its extra produce during the growing season, especially in the fall.

Neil Schilling, a longtime volunteer at the food pantry, has a truck that he brings to the farm to fill up with the excess produce.

“We’ve been doing this for 25 years now,” says Frank Keller, president of Keller’s Farmstand. “We have to grow more than we actually need to make sure we have enough, and at times we have so much sweet corn, cucumbers and zucchini. Neil has helped a lot. He likes to be busy and he keeps an eye on the excess stuff and loads it up.”

Oswegoland Park District produced approximately 10,000 pounds of fresh produce last year to the food pantry by growing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in its pantry garden program at Prairie Point Park. It harvests on Thursdays and distributes the produce later the same day.

It started more than 15 years ago when the park district took an unused piece of land and turned it into something vital for the community. The land now impacts thousands of families suffering from hunger and food insecurity while also providing a nutritious source of food that you can’t find in cans. Furthermore, youth sports teams, clubs, organizations, churches and other groups often become gardeners, learning a new passion via the park district’s 50 raised vegetable beds, ten herb beds, four apple trees, raspberry bushes and more.