All produce and proceeds are donated to local organizations that provide for the poor. Shane Claiborne is a young man from Tennessee who takes the Gospel very seriously, but with a light heart. For a number of years he has worked in inner-city Philadelphia helping to bring hope and a sense of purpose to people living in pretty desperate situations. Among other projects, Shane and his friends helpe
d start community gardens throughout the inner city. Adrian Ecumenical Forum is a group of community leaders from local churches and social service organizations. AEF meets once a month during the school year for conversation, support and prayer. About a year and a half ago members of the Adrian Ecumenical Forum watched a DVD of a talk given by Shane. In that video he talked about how those gardens not only provided food for needy people but built a sense of community among the gardeners. That became the inspiration for a community garden here in Adrian. Actually, some members of First United Methodist Church on West Maple had begun a garden on church property in the spring of 2010. Throughout the fall of 2010 and the spring of 2011 a sizable group of church members met weekly to plan the new garden. Early on it was decided to ask the City of Adrian for permission to use the empty lot at the corner of Broad and Church Streets as the garden site. That was readily granted. Soon soil testing was done and the spot was determined to be without contaminants, except for some rather sizable chunks of buried concrete. Throughout the spring of 2011 the garden was tilled, mulch was added, plots were laid out and about a dozen groups agreed to plant and care for gardens at the site. A hedge of tea rose plants was donated by folks from Gleaners Insurance. On Saturday, May 21, 2011 the garden was formally dedicated. The planning group decided early on that this would be a “donation garden” with all produce and proceeds going to area organizations feeding and providing for the poor. To date, more than ten thousand pounds of vegetables have been harvested from the site and donated, thanks to the hard work of many folks.
