The Giving Garden looking to bed down for the winter

MOSES LAKE - It is possible for you to profit off your storm debris. Community Services of Moses Lake encompasses the Moses Lake Food Bank and Harvest for Hunger, and these programs are looking for your mulch.

AmeriCorps VISTA Jeni Roberts coordinates the Harvest for Hunger program. She said they have been working with Habitat for Humanity and local residents to establish a community garden, dubbed the Giving Garden. The Giving Garden is approximately 2,000 square feet, and 2,225 pounds of food has been harvested from it this year, and donated to the Moses Lake Food Bank.

Moses Lake resident Don Key donated the space, off Broadway Ave., for the Giving Garden. Key bought the property recently with plans to renovate it into a community garden, after having harvests from the previous downtown garden stolen.

Key and other volunteer caretakers of the garden continue to harvest, but have began to plan for the winter months. Key said they have not begun to harvest tomatoes or watermelons yet, which will add up to 1,000 more pounds of food to donate to the food bank.

Roberts said mulch will be used to cover strawberry plants during the cold months, establish walkways through the garden, cover bare areas of ground and to retain moisture and deter weeds in the spring.

Those who donate to the (501)c3 will receive $1.66 a pound in in-kind donations for tax breaks.

Key said the program is not looking for wood chips. Rather, they are looking for mulch, which would be leaves and other softer organic material. He said the program will be able to use wood chips in the spring.

Roberts began her service year as an AmeriCorps VISTA in December, moving here from Iowa. Roberts said she applied for all 10 Harvest for Hunger positions in Washington, and that she believes she found this community during a very positive time. "I'm meeting all the right people," she said.

Her background in horticulture and small scale farming has made her acutely aware of the how much unused produce large-scale farms create, and how much the community can use it. Roberts helps to coordinate gleaning programs in the county. Last weekend her crews gleaned 4,200 pounds of apples, "without even denting the orchard," she said.

To learn more about the Giving Garden or gleaning, you can find Harvest for Hunger Moses Lake on Facebook, or email Roberts at gleaning@mlfood.org.