Lake Braddock Students Garden To Feed Families In Need

BURKE, VA — Food insecure people in Fairfax and Prince William counties will get fresh produce thanks to the gardening efforts of Lake Braddock Secondary School students.

The garden is part of Good News Community Kitchen, an Occoquan-based nonprofit focused on rebuilding and strengthening communities by fighting hunger, to grow food in the community garden on Lee Chapel Road. Good News Community Kitchen's meals program provides take-home lunches for students, outreach to homeless in Prince William, Fairfax and DC and meals to shut-ins during the pandemic.

The Good News Garden is a new initiative of the nonprofit this year. The nonprofit's director secured the plot of land on Lee Chapel Road for the garden from the landowner for five years of use. The garden will produce food that can be distributed to the people Good News Community Kitchen serves.

"The idea is that we can augment the food that goes out to people, which is typically staples...we can augment that with fresh produce once this garden starts producing," Jim Relyea, a volunteer with Good News Community Kitchen, told Patch.

The garden wouldn't have taken off without the participation of students.

Liesl Winters told Patch she and her friend Josh encountered the garden while walking in the area and contacted Good News Community Kitchen. Then, more students got involved. Winters said the students are more of a group "with a mutual interest in helping the community" rather than a formal school club.

"We got to have this group of people who came to volunteer weekly," said Winters.

According to fellow student Yossra Samghouli, the group's work started with removing rocks and sticks from the ground on the first day. The next week, they did digging, adding fresh soil and starting to dig holes and plant.

The number of students volunteering each week varies, but it's typically six to eight students. At one time, they had as many as 12 volunteers. Relyea oversees the involved students. Participating students included Samghouli, Winters, Joshua Reiff, David Hong, Joel Belmonte, Lauren Lewis, Ally Harbourt, Adam Chen, Nazanin Setayeshpour, Helen Do and Rohan Mummalaneni.

Relyea said it was hard work for the students, since it involved digging up hard clay and mixing topsoil before planting could begin. A continuing challenge throughout the summer is that garden site not having running water, so volunteers will bring in 50 to 60 gallons of water every few days when it doesn't rain. Weeding is also ongoing.

The students still have fun with their work. Samghouli called gardening "imagination mixed with hard work." One of the things she and others did to lighten up the work was giving fun names to each item they planted.

"It's a skill building activity because some of these things I had never done before," said Samghouli. "I was so intrigued by the fact that you get to garden amongst your peers. It's a very fulfilling activity, and I think we can all say that. By the end when everything is ready to be picked in the fall, the whole theme will really start to show which is community building."

Growing produce for people in need puts a spotlight on the issue of food insecurity. According to Feeding America, Fairfax County's projected food insecurity rate in 2021 is 7.4 percent, compared to 5.8 percent in 2019. In Prince William County, the projected food insecurity rate in 2021 is 6.4 percent, and the 2019 rate was 4.8 percent.

"Often here in the suburbs it's kind of an inclination of a lot of people to think homeless people or food insecure people don't exist here, and that's absolutely not true," said Winters. "It was really cool to see an initiative like this that's really giving the kids something nutritious and sustainable."

According to Relyea, Good News Community Kitchen directly distributes food to kids through schools or meals program to homes. Meals go out to homes helping 50 to 60 families each week.

"Once we start getting the produce out, it will be divided up among probably 50 to 60 families," said Relyea.

The involved students felt the garden was a worthwhile cause to be a part of.

"Food security is a very real issue in NoVA, and I think being able to participate and contribute to a cause as admirable as this is very heartening it's very fulfilling and enjoyable, and I think this was one of the greatest uses of my time."

"It's just been a really great experience, because it's helpful for everybody involved," said Winters. "People who are doing it are learning, and obviously this garden is going to benefit a lot of people down the road."

With most of the involved students being rising seniors, Relyea hopes others will get involved to help with the garden after they graduate.

"Every time you're starting a garden from scratch, it's really hard work and the students that came to help were great," said Relyea. "Without the group coming out to help, there would not be a garden this year."

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, about 42 million Americans may not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.