BRYAN, Texas — If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to dig into your community, now’s the time.
The garden at the Brazos Valley Food Bank needs volunteers to help maintain the produce during its winter season.
“Winter is one of our three growing seasons,” said Alaina Jalufka, program manager for Together We Grow. “We need help all the time. We fertilize. Every time we have volunteers out here, I need somebody to help me fertilize. We are always pulling weeds out of the beds, and we are pulling weeds and planting stuff kind of on a rotating basis so that’s always in need.”
Together We Grow is a program within the Brazos Valley Food Bank, fostering connections in the community and tackling food insecurity.
Jalufka says an additional 10 to 20 volunteers are needed.
“…Everything we grow out here goes first to our clients who are in our Together We Grow program,” said Jalufka. “We have a nutrient education team, and they’ll create recipes around things we have growing out in the garden.”
The remaining harvest then goes to the Brazos Valley Food Bank warehouse that distributes to public pantries in our area.
For volunteer Katina Osth, she gardens to help others.
“You do something for somebody else and dealing with plants is very therapeutic,” said Katina Osth, garden volunteer. “You get to really distress and you’re doing something good for somebody else.”
After putting hard work into the garden, Osth says harvesting is the reward.
“So the planting is nice, but when you harvest, you’re like ‘ohh there’s another cucumber here,’ said Osth. “It’s very very fun.”
If you are interested in helping with the food bank’s on-site garden, you can learn more about their volunteer application here.