Garden just keeps growing and growing

At the border of New Mexico and Texas, the Jardin de Milagros grows more than 90,000 pounds of fresh produce each year and gleans another 30K to 70K in an effort to offer fresh, healthy food via Kelly Memorial Food Pantry in El Paso, to people who are food insecure. On just three acres, Jerry and Susie Hobson, members of University Presbyterian Church in El Paso, work with and through volunteers, providing a learning opportunity for young and old, who have outsized hearts for helping our neighbors. Given the climate, there is fresh food most of the year. A greenhouse allows production of tomatoes and seedlings year round. More than 30 different kinds of produce are grown or gleaned from other farms in the course of the year ranging from cool weather crops like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, Kale, etc. to summer crops of squash, cucumbers, onions, herbs, etc. and melons. And this garden grows more than squash and pak choi. Education in a vital component in the operation of the garden. Elementary school children come to learn about growing food. Civic and religious organizations volunteer their time. Youth from Missouri, South Carolina, and California and other states spend part of their spring-break at JDM learning how to transplant onions and prepare rows for sweet potatoes. Other faith groups come 50 at a time to help harvest. Since 2010, Jardin de Milagros has produced some 637,000 pounds of good, farm-fresh food and gleaned another 271,000 pounds since beginning those partnerships in 2013. All of this effort is accomplished on a budget that averages $73,000 annually including materials and labor.