WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The Salvation Army Red Shield Community Garden and Urban Farm on Park Avenue in Williamsport is a place where community members can pick their own vegetables for free through a partnership with UPMC.
Now, the new addition of a greenhouse will help extend the growing season.
"Which is helping to feed our community with fresh vegetables, teaching them how to cook new recipes without using canned stuff, but using stuff they're actually pulling from the garden and that they've grown. So, it's really a cool thing and the vegetables that are left over, they bring over to the Salvation Army for our food pantry clients," said Maj. Sheryl Hershey of the Salvation Army in Williamsport.
The garden, which has been around for nine years, has helped feed thousands of people in the Williamsport area. It started with 8,000 square feet and is now up to 40,000 square feet.
"It's also very unique in the Salvation Army," said Hershey. "There are not a lot of Salvation Armies who actually run community gardens, and so it's a very unique thing that we have been able to do this in this county."
Many items in the garden are donated by community members, including the newly built greenhouse.
"I'm involved in a program through Bucknell where I attend classes—a course where we meet with inmates at SCI Coal Township. There are two organizations, one called Lifeline, one called Triumph. These are inmate organizations. Besides their goal of mentoring to each other, a second goal for them is to make charitable contributions to the community," said Sid Furst, volunteer manager for the Salvation Army.
The inmates raised $4,000 for the greenhouse through their jobs and special events held at the prison.
"Where they sell things to inmates and that goes into a fund and from that fund, they make charitable contributions all over north-central and northeastern Pennsylvania," Furst said.
The greenhouse will also give volunteers at the Salvation Army the opportunity to educate community members of all ages on how to grow their own vegetables.