By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

The Growing Well Garden, a venture comprised of several local organizations, was planted Wednesday afternoon by around 15 volunteers, all with the vision of stocking local food pantries with fresh fruits and vegetables.

The United Way of Livingston County is one of the organizations lending a helping hand to the garden, which is located south of the emergency department overflow parking lot at OSF Saint James – John W. Albrecht  Medical Center, and Executive Director Deb Howard describes why she has taken an interest in helping with this project.

“When I moved down here, I noticed how expensive fruits and vegetables were. Where I came from, we could get a bag of plums for $1.29 and it was a big bag that had a bunch of them in it. Or peaches. So, my kids were used to eating like that. There were so many kids that my kids brought into the house that never had fresh fruit, very often, or vegetables – just what the school had. So, I thought it was important to make sure they had fruits and vegetables,” Howard said.

This year’s yield of items, such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon and cantaloupe, will benefit the Pontiac Salvation Army, Livingston County Community Food Pantry and St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. To volunteer, contact Howard at 844-5131.