Connecting Over Food and Across Faiths
On Monday, members of the Interfaith Working Group and other community members toured the Zion Lutheran Church community garden, which had recently gotten an upgrade, thanks to a $1500 mini grant from the Interfaith Working Group. Afterward, they shared food and discussed collaboration opportunities in local food security efforts.
According to Zion Lutheran’s Adela Jackson, the garden has seen over a tenfold increase in production this year, with 1000 lbs of food harvested by early August. This increase is partly due to the mini grant provided, which was used to purchase four truckloads of soil and an irrigation system. The food produced by the garden is then donated to the Food Bank, Stone Soup, and the Rescue Mission.
The Interfaith Working Group started this program in 2022 to connect with local faith groups, to share resources for projects that support the community, and to build relationships to respond collaboratively to the challenges of climate change.
This is the second year of the mini-grant program, funded through the New Pluralists, which is a philanthropic organization dedicated to building strong communities across divides. In 2024, the Interfaith Working Group was able to donate $55,880 to 12 different local faith communities, funding projects like energy upgrades, energy audits, infrastructure for food security initiatives, and an environmental camp. To learn more about FCAC’s Interfaith work, see here.
“It’s important for us to be growing our own food if we’re concerned about climate. Shipping food in from the lower 48 has a high carbon footprint. So the more we can grow, the less carbon we’re emitting when we’re eating our food.”
“Together we can have a greater impact, with more collaboration and outreach across communities.”
“Food is important to everyone in our community. Transportation of goods, accessibility, the ability to garden, and reducing food waste are conversations important to everyone. We are stronger together when we work with each other.”
