Celebration Saturday to kick off community garden

Jun. 13—SHARON — Local residents can celebrate the opening of the Mercer County Food Bank's community garden this weekend.

The third-annual Community Garden Kickoff will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the community garden, located at 80 4th Ave., Sharon, according to a press release.

The community can expect many "exciting activities" at the celebration including face painting provided by The Buhl Club, games provided by Baughman Family Community Center and story time provided by Community Library of the Shenango Valley.

Booklets will be provided by the Kiwanis Club of the Shenango Valley, and various other activities will be provided by Red Pines Service Unit Girl Scouts.

Food will also be available, with hotdogs, chips and cookies donated by Shenango Valley Meats, D'Onofrio's Food Center, and DiLorenzo's Specialty Bakery, the release states.

Visitors will see a new addition to the community garden this year — the "Veggie Beatz" music wall, constructed by Girl Scout Troops 16365 and 27314.

The Mercer County Food Bank adopted the community garden lot in 2021 through the Lots to Love Program, a partnership between the City of Sharon and Community Action Partnership of Mercer County.

Food bank Development Director Alexis Spence-Locke said the site was the first lot adopted through the Lots to Love Program, and that the area was already an established garden when it came up for adoption.

Since then, many of the food bank's staff have volunteered their time to maintain the garden, with a garden committee and a group of volunteers handling the weeding, planting, watering and other responsibilities.

"We have residents that come when they can, and of course they're welcome to take whatever food they need, and a lot of people just enjoy being there," Spence-Locke said.

"We've had people hold birthday parties there, and sometimes people will come out and sit with us."

The garden features eight separate beds containing different fruits and vegetables including peppers, fresh red raspberries, tomatoes and lettuce to name a few, the release states.

Plants were "generously" donated by Girl Scout Troop 27312.

"Fresh fruits and vegetables are often cost prohibitive for those living on a fixed and/or low-income," food bank Executive Director Rebecca Page said in the release.

"The community garden provides an additional avenue of distribution of these vital fresh foods to our food insecure neighbors."

Spence-Locke said volunteers are always needed at the community garden. Anyone interested can contact Development Coordinator Patty Tucker at 724-981-0353 ext. 103.

She also encouraged the community to come out for the celebration Saturday and enjoy the family-friendly activities.

"This is something that's going to be fun for the whole family," Spence-Locke said.

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