Mike Wolanin | The Republic Shirley Jefferson fills a bag with ears of corn at the Calvary Community Church Garden of Eden in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, July 25, 2024. Jefferson helped start the garden with Judy Jackson.
Judy Jackson hopes that far more than corn, potatoes and more spring from what is called the Garden of Eden at 11th and California streets in downtown Columbus.
She wants it to yield a harvest of more initiatives to provide local residents, including the struggling and others, with free, healthy food and related resources.
“This has involved a tremendous amount of work,” Jackson said. “But it’s well worth it.”
She spoke of the 40-foot by 50 foot space teeming with a range of produce — corn, tomatoes, greens, peppers, radishes, cucumbers, and more — to produce a healthier local population in the long run. The garden, planted by Jackson, Shirley Jenkins Jefferson and others — on behalf of her Calvary Community Church on the church property, will allow church members and members of the community to stop in at 5 p.m. each Thursday for free produce.
Thursday marked the first such giveaway. Forty-two people and less than 30 minutes later, everything was gone for the week. And that’s even with the corn and tomatoes supplemented from a local market because of the demand.
“That’s not exactly what we expected,” Jackson said of the substantial interest.
The next pickup for the general public will be 5 p.m. Aug. 8 across from the church, which sits at 1031 Chestnut St. Giveaways for those who say they have a need, no questions asked, ideally will run through October, with various produce available from week to week, according to organizers.
Jackson, a longtime strong advocate of a healthy diet and general lifestyle, got the idea for the garden after watching the documentary series “Live to 100: The Secrets of the Blue Zones” on Netflix.
“I definitely think we need to see a shift in our culture (on healthy living),” she said.
She took the idea to Pastor Frank Griffin, who quickly offered his support. All told, the church has invested about $11,000 on site preparation and related expenses, including having a water main installed on the property, according to Jackson.
“As a church today, you just cannot stay within the building’s four walls,” said Jackson, who has her own garden plot as part of the local community gardens in the Airpark Columbus area. “And I think this is one if the best ways to reach people in need.”
Columbus resident Irene Humes lives within walking distance of the garden and showed up Thursday in time to get vegetables when Jenkins-Jefferson told her about the giveaway.
“Where else can someone get free vegetables this fresh — and right out of the garden?” Humes asked.
But Humes already is planning to repay the kindness by helping Jenkins Jefferson on Aug. 8 at the giveaway.
“I’ve had a garden myself,” Humes said. “And I know how very much time it can take.”
Church member Brian Nelson has been involved in similar projects in the Milwaukee area. At the beginning of the local church effort in the spring, he came in with a skid steer machine and ground rake to prepare the property that at one time held a house. Nelson found that part of the home foundation still was there.
“We had to go in kind of deep,” Nelson said. “It was a project kind of above and beyond.”
Nelson suggested that, if funding becomes available, perhaps a greenhouse could be added next year.
But the church already is working with collaborators on a health-oriented block party Oct. 6 on the site. For now, there are hopes to have even a chef or two onsite that day preparing healthy recipes. Organizers already are seeking supporters and sponsors.
“We even want to teach people how to cook,” Jackson said.
And she wants at least one thing more in a county where other churches launched similar efforts in the past decade.
“I’d like to see this idea (of a giveaway garden),” she said, “spread throughout the whole community.”
