In 2011, Covenant Church decided to participate in a joint mission project of the Faith & Grace Garden. The garden is located on one acre of land between Covenant Church and St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. The Faith & Grace Garden is one of the twelve metro area donation gardens providing fresh grown produce to those in need. All produce harvested is donated to various groups and food banks including the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) and Drake University’s Head Start (which is hosted by Covenant).
The garden operates roughly from late April through mid to late October, depending on the weather. Thousands of pounds of food is grown with a yield depending on the year’s growing conditions for this organic-only endeavor. Some of the produce includes tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cauliflower, lettuce, squash, onions, garlic blue berries and cabbage. Fruit bearing trees may be harvested in upcoming years.
All work in the Faith & Grace Garden is done by volunteers. They come from all over the Metro. Volunteers include members, youth and children from Covenant and St. Timothy's along with students from Dowling Catholic High School, Valley High School, Drake University, Grand View University, and other churches in West Des Moines. Some dedicated volunteers just show up all on their own! For the past several years, Lutheran Services of Iowa has also used the Faith & Grace Garden to assist with cultural integration of immigrants and refugees from Myanmar (Burma) and the Bhutan.
Learn more at www.growthefood.org.
Do you want to connect with this ministry? Go to Volunteer Spot by clicking here or contact the church office at church@wdmcovenant.org. Volunteers may work Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from 6:30 to 8:00pm and on Saturdays from 10:30am to noon during the gardening season.
The garden operates roughly from late April through mid to late October, depending on the weather. Thousands of pounds of food is grown with a yield depending on the year’s growing conditions for this organic-only endeavor. Some of the produce includes tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cauliflower, lettuce, squash, onions, garlic blue berries and cabbage. Fruit bearing trees may be harvested in upcoming years.
All work in the Faith & Grace Garden is done by volunteers. They come from all over the Metro. Volunteers include members, youth and children from Covenant and St. Timothy's along with students from Dowling Catholic High School, Valley High School, Drake University, Grand View University, and other churches in West Des Moines. Some dedicated volunteers just show up all on their own! For the past several years, Lutheran Services of Iowa has also used the Faith & Grace Garden to assist with cultural integration of immigrants and refugees from Myanmar (Burma) and the Bhutan.
Learn more at www.growthefood.org.
Do you want to connect with this ministry? Go to Volunteer Spot by clicking here or contact the church office at church@wdmcovenant.org. Volunteers may work Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from 6:30 to 8:00pm and on Saturdays from 10:30am to noon during the gardening season.
