One in three children lives in a family that the government defines as “food insecure” (struggling to keep food on the table) in the South Coast area.^[1]  After

learning this, the First Congregational Church of Wareham farm crew, Ashley and Karla Villatoro and daughter Ariana, Barbara Watson and David Boettinger,and Margaret Ishihara wanted to get involved in a local effort to help these people in need.  So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in April the crew volunteered at the Share the Harvest Farm in South Dartmouth.   Share the Harvest farm is run by farmer Dan King and uses volunteer labor and donations to raise produce for distribution to food pantries from Fall River to Wareham.  This community farm is located on about 3 to 4 acres on land at the Dartmouth YMCA.

The crew was led by dedicated University of Massachusetts Dartmouth community service intern, Tim and his friends Will and Maria.   During a tour of the well ordered farm the crew heard that the farm raises crops such as squash, kale, tomatoes, green peppers, lettuce, eggplant, lettuce, carrots and potatoes and has started growing fruit trees and berries.   Last year the farm grew 43,000 pounds of produce.

The church volunteers’first job was planting squash and cucumber seeds in cell packs which were placed in the green house and which will later be transplanted out in the field.   Then they moved on to transplanting lettuce in two long rows.  All told the farm crew planted about 1750 squash and cucumber seeds and around 500 lettuce seedlings, which the crew believes, with God’s help will grow to become food for the needy.  

If you are interested in joining the First Congregational Church farm crew for their next volunteer opportunity please contact Margaret Ishihara at (508) 291-1218

[1]  Medicke, Rich; “The War on Hunger”, New Bedford Standard Times, March 19, 2013.