Danville Student Harvests Church Garden, Donates To Food Bank

DANVILLE, CA — A Danville student received the National Society of High School Scholars Foundation’s Earth Day Scholarship thanks to his work bringing food from his church’s garden to local food banks.

Colin Horsley, a senior at San Ramon Valley High School, harvests seven types of herbs from the garden at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Danville. The church had always donated herbs from its garden to the church, but the volunteer who harvested the garden suffered a leg injury, and trained Horsley to take over.

He grows herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, in addition to mint, bay leaves, tarragon, and chives, and gathers extra fruit from congregation members. Each month, about a cubic foot of food is donated to the Monument Crisis Center, a Concord food bank that also provides education and legal counseling to families and seniors in crisis.

“Donating herbs is important to me because it improves people's health,” Horsley told Patch in an email. “Some of the food from the food bank is non-perishable, old, or bland, and do not provide enough nutrition. I supplement the food bank recipients' diet with fresh herbs, which I think is valuable.”

Horsley has also run garden tours, and taught congregants the importance of growing herbs without pesticides, and minimizing food waste.

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