Garden For All blossoms with hope and inspiration as we explore the fertile ground of food security efforts led by our expert guest, Beth NeCamp, the executive director of Garden For All.

Amidst the thorns of food insecurity, The Garden For All sprouted as a beacon of nourishment and education during the pandemic, founded by the compassionate duo, Catherine and Shawn Duffy in New Albany.

Beth, with her rich background in communications and community engagement, joins us to shed light on how their organization has cultivated over 8,000 pounds of fresh produce for area pantries, engaged over 250 volunteers, and added beauty to their bounty with the mindful inclusion of flowers.

We unearth the importance of "food as medicine," the growth of The Garden For All, and its symbiotic relationship with partners like (GRIN) Gahanna Residents In Need, Broad Street Presbyterian Food Pantry, and Motherful. We dig deeper into how their initiatives—from "sew and grow" events to implementing high tunnel systems for year-round cultivation—nurture both people and the community.

Top Takeaways

**Community Collaboration**: The Garden For All partners with local organizations to address food insecurity and support those in need, promoting a strong sense of community through collective action.

**Educational Initiatives**: Beyond food distribution, The Garden For All focuses on educating the community with events like "sew and grow," empowering individuals to produce their own food and promoting long-term self-sufficiency.

**Volunteerism and Impact**: The Garden For All is a testament to how volunteers can make a substantial difference, with opportunities available for varied interests, including gardening, packaging, delivery, and flower arranging.

**Resource Accessibility for Those in Need**: The organization ensures that people in need of food assistance are guided to available resources, highlighting websites like the Mid Ohio Food Collective for support services.

Memorable Moments

00:00 Addressing social determinants of health improves outcomes.

03:53 Food pantry progress: nutritious, holistic, hospital support.

07:23 Community initiative grows, uniting people, addressing needs.

11:55 Expand partnerships, volunteer base, systemize, and communicate.

14:35 Flower garden donated, promoted, and connected volunteers.

17:22 New Albany community supports local food pantry.

20:15 Promoting education through gardening events and programs.

26:01 Encourage involvement in community, make a difference.

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Recorded in Studio C at 511 Studios. A production of Circle270Media Podcast Consultants.

Copyright 2024 Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson

We are Looking Forward Our Way from Studio C in the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Hi. This is Brett. Carol and I are at the studio while our guest is joining us remotely today for a very important topic, food insecurity in our community.

Brett, today Way are featuring a unique program that is blending community activism with supporting the local food bank system here in Ventresca Ohio. The Garden Forward is based in New Albany, Ohio. Brett, let's welcome Beth NeCamp, the new executive director of Garden For All.

Hi, Carol. Hi, Brett. Thank you so much for having me.

You have an extensive background in communications, marketing, and community engagement promoting health care programs at The Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. Your expertise brings a very unique perspective to the issues of food instability and the lack of affordable available nutritious food. Let's discuss your background and what brought you to the Garden For All.

Thank you. I would say that while I was at, Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center, in my most recent role was executive director of community outreach and engagement. We really started to address how the social determinants of health impacted people's health outcomes. So the doctors and the nurses at in all of our hospitals do a fabulous job of treating, illness and, disease when it's presented. But when people go back to homes where they, don't have healthy food to sustain them, where perhaps they don't live in a safe, neighborhood or, you know, a myriad of other, social social needs and problems. It really is response we felt really responsible starting to feel responsible for, the that part of health too. And so, one of the big social determinants of health is food insecurity or food instability as you mentioned. And so Way, that's really where I started to get interested and to see the real impact on people's health, and it all the way to their life expectancy.

I mean, there are certain ZIP codes in Columbus. So for example, you know, the health the life expectancy in Bexley is almost 20 years greater than the life expectancy on the near east side, and that's a mile difference. And so that that's not okay. And so I think it takes all of us in the community to do something to narrow that gap and and hopefully eliminate that gap so that we all can enjoy the best health possible.

Right. So looking at preventative versus proactive, Preactive or, you know, to to, you know, to try to get the Brett the healthiest food you can to maybe help stave off what might be inevitable, but at the same time, you just had healthier lifestyle.

So many diseases, one of the risk factors, is your diet.

Mhmm.

Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, I mean, cancer. So, you know, I really just think that this is really important to all of us. And, I was grateful to find an organization that I really found to be so innovative. One of the things I did late in my career is I went back and got my master's at Ohio State in a program called, healthcare innovation. And so I just was really intrigued by what the Garden Forward was doing and how they were kind of disrupting the the supply chain in in in some ways and also creating a unique solution to having healthy foods in, in our neighborhoods.

You know, it seems, Beth, that that the whole food pantry system has taken huge leaps and bounds of progress in opening up our our vision of what food stability really is. It used to be just people bringing canned goods to the food pantry and whoever needed something they were pretty much kind of stuck with whatever was available. And now you're bringing even a larger perspective with that medical background Looking a look at, well, we not only want to give people nutritious food so that they can live a healthier life, but if something happens and they're in the hospital and they need to go home, they need to be in a spot where they're not gonna end up back in the hospital again Mhmm. And and be able to actually get through their illness and recovery and do well. So that that Right.

Really, it's it's, you know, food is medicine is really the Very true. The crux of that.

Very

true. And I think too, you know, with, I was retired for, a year, and I had the opportunity to do some volunteering in the community. I really wanted to kind of, dabble and see where my Ventresca really lie. And, one of the places I I volunteered was a food pantry. So it helped me to see kind of the back and to see how it, the choice pantry. I also had been, on the board and board chair at one point of St. Stephen's Community House, in my career, and they have a a really fabulous pantry as well. So, really being able to see, how people really want the fresh produce and when it is available, how they almost everybody would always choose it.

Mhmm. So, that to me, is really encouraging about what our mission is.

Wonderful. Thank you so much. So, the the garden for all, I'm I'm guessing a whole lot of folks haven't heard of this. I'm finding it just fascinating, and it has a really interesting backstory bringing together the community during a world wide pandemic. So what was going on in New Albany that led to the creation of the garden?

Yeah. So the garden was founded by, Catherine Duffy and Sean Duffy, and they, are members of the All Saints Episcopal Church, which is in New Albany. And so during the pandemic, they, really saw how more and more people were becoming food insecure. And with our problems with our supply chain, they realized that people weren't able to get food that needed it. And so we just had this increased need, increase more barriers to getting it, and they felt just the calling to do something about it. And so All Saints had land that they then allowed, Catherine and Sean to start growing on. And so that's really how it started in 2019, right Looking Our right during maybe 2020, well, right during the pandemic. And so it's grown to this year or in 2023, they donated over £8,000 of produce to the area pantries, which is really 40,000 servings of produce to, people in Central Ohio.

And so, it it really started as as to say a seed of an idea and has really grown to be, really a force that we see having so much opportunity to grow even further. And the other part of it, in addition to providing food, is really to provide a sense of community, among the people that were going to the church, but also the people living in New Albany. If you remember, it was so isolating, during the pandemic. And, so how do we bring people together outside Looking something that, they can work together and form friendships? And so those are really the 2 pronged approach that, led to the beginning of it, and I would say have really come come, to fruition, in in very large ways. For example, there's all we have over 250 volunteers, and many return volunteers that come back to see friends that they've made. Way, host different corporate teams that like to bring their employees out to to to dig in the dirt and, to also learn about the the the need our community has for providing fresh food to to people where many many parts of our city have food deserts.

Right. Well, Central Ohio has a very strong food pantry partnership system. Mid Ohio Food Collective covers a 20 county region, providing a 170,000 meals each day. The collective is a pantry, but also a hub for activities needed to end hunger one nourishing meal at a time, they say. However, the collective can't do the work alone. There's an important role for local groups to support mission of providing wholesome affordable and available food in in our region. How does the mission of the garden fit into this plan?

I I would say we have a shared mission of, of really fighting hunger and growing community. And so, with Mid Ohio, they've been very supportive, and they offer consulting and and advice to people that have gardens, and they actually, have gardens themselves that are growing a lot of their own produce also. And so I would just see them as being a really great partner and supporter of our work. And so, many of the pantry most all pantries get their, food and produce from the the Mid Ohio Food Collective, but they there's a greater need. And so individual farmers are donating their their produce, and then we, have really formed a business model to donate a 100% of our produce to the food pantries.

Mhmm. Mhmm. Catherine and her husband have done this with a really small core structure of Garden For All. You're the first official executive director and congratulations again on this great opportunity. Tell us about your role as the director as well as the other leaders of the organization, and, you know, what is it that's going to be on your plate growing and achieving over the next year?

Yeah. I think, we really want to be able to increase our impact in the community. And really one way is it so they've really I think one of my big, charges is to to to expand the garden for all, and that, will be in many different kind of creative ways. One way so so Sean Duffy is our chief grower, and he, had received already a a grant from the USDA, and we, will be implementing a what they call a high tunnel system. And so this will allow us to grow in the winter. And so that was a direct response to, the need of the pantry saying it was really hard to get fresh produce in the winter for, their customers. And so so Forward example, you think about expansion, obviously, in getting new plots of land, which we're definitely looking at, and through partnerships. But also, expanding the months that we can grow is another way, also.

And so I'll be looking to expand, our partnerships with those in the community who have similar missions. Also looking to expand our volunteer base. So as we go out into right now, a lot of our even though our produce is distributed across Central Ohio, many of Our, our volunteers are from New Albany and Gahanna area. So as we go into new communities, we would want to have a partner that has a nice volunteer base. So it's really the land and the tiers that really make up, and and kind of the process. And and I would say also really trying to kinda systemize more of what we do, in the in the sense of when you grow and get bigger. A lot of times, maybe manual processes aren't as as efficient as maybe doing more things, online or digital and and that type of thing. And and also with my background in communications, really, telling our story to more people and to really, to so that more and more people wanna get involved.

And, and, frankly, also, we want more people to give, because that's how we fund our mission. We're we're a 100% funded by, donors, grants, and, you know, corporate corporate donors as well.

So the garden's a great opportunity for volunteers who enjoy the outdoors, obviously, until you start to do the indoor stuff, and wanna sink their hands into some dirt and and provide an important contribution to the community. Let's talk about how many volunteers you have. Also, what does, a volunteer work Way look like? What what can they expect? What could they what could draw in different types of volunteers of of its maybe it's not just putting hands in dirt, but there may I'm sure there are other pieces to this that, you need help with as well as what what a day Looking looks like.

I, the volunteers, like, right now are planting. So they're in the garden and planting. And then once we have produce to and vegetables to, pick, they're picking the vegetables, and then we have a system of packaging. So some people will be, responsible for packaging the produce so that it's kind of an end of package like you would see in a store. And, that there's, you know, kind of strict rules around that and labeling and that type of thing. And then we have delivery, to the pantry. So so those are some of you didn't wanna get dirty. You could do the packaging or you could do the delivery.

We also have, a flower garden, kind of a cutting garden. And so, Way, have people that come in, arrange the flowers into bouquets that we take out to farmer markets, and we use those just to kind of promote our organization and ask for a donation. We don't sell any of our produce, and the bouquet. We also donate the bouquets to the pantries because we want, customers of the pantries to enjoy a beautiful flower arrangement on their tables also. And so there really are different roles for for people. The garden has done a nice job connecting with the OSU Master Gardener Program. And so many of our volunteers come from that organization. So, as a master gardener, I understand you need to have so many hours of volunteer, and we're kind of a official site for that.

And so, we're we're that that's really exciting for us to have that level of expertise in our garden along with Sean.

I I love Sean's email news email newsletters that he's sending out and he'll he'll tell everybody Way here's the schedule. So unfortunately, we've had a lot of rain this week and, so he's like he's banking on Saturday to be good good weather and getting those volunteers out so he's really the cheerleader back there getting people to, get in there and help put put the seeds in the ground.

Right. Right. He, he's as a chief grower, he his background really is his his father. I was quite the gardener and has, land and was really has just a foundational knowledge, based on Looking and, kind of growing up in that environment. And so and in addition to his foundation on knowledge, just a real a real passion, both he and Catherine do, and and also really a strong, foundation in their faith that, all people, all people deserve to have the best the land has to offer. And I'll say that really was a draw to me too in in choosing this organization to to spend some time with, post retirement is just the mission is just so powerful. And and although our, our current gardener is on the All Saints Church. It's open to all, all people to volunteer, regardless of faith and regardless of background, Way want this is a place everybody can come to help those in need.

Mhmm. What what a wonderful message too, and it kind of goes right with my next, question because Ventresca Ohio and see New Albany sort of in a different light, like why would there be a food pantry in in New Albany or why would anybody in New Albany be concerned about food stability? But this is really showing how the folks in New Albany, just like the rest of our community in Ventresca Ohio, are truly worried about each other. And so from Catherine and Sean, they really put their heads together and came up with an incredible way to give back to the community, get people out of their houses, breathe in fresh air even during a pandemic and and do something of value to for everyone else. And so this kind of goes right into my next question. New Albany is an affluent area and, but they have been the the folks in New Albany have been incredibly supportive as volunteers. The city has been supportive and other partners. Tell us a little bit about all the other partners you're working with.

Sure. Sure. So we, yes, our our garden for all is located in New Albany even though we we share our produce with food pantries throughout the city. So some of the food pantries, one is in the New Albany Forward Pantry that's run by Healthy New Albany. And they have just been a fabulous partner. Healthy New Albany has done a nice, really great, service to us by promoting our volunteer opportunities and also, helping to promote a lot of our our programming. So New Albany does have a food pantry. There we do have suburban poverty in all many areas of our community.

Another partner is, Gahanna residents in need, called GRIN. So that is also kind of located nearby. Similar, we also work with Broadstreet Presbyterian Food Pantry and an organization called Motherful. And they also offer free food to their members who are in need. And so, yes, New Albany has been a fabulous place to have our home base, because of the volunteers and because of the commitment to to, folks. But I would say the similar thing with Kahana and with, you know, other other partners as well. Really just great feedback and, about what what their customers are looking for and Way, and, and just really grateful when we show up with our produce, at their pantry. It's really been a nice partnership and collaboration across kind of the whole food and security ecosystem, if you will.

One of our other missions in addition to providing for the food pantry is education. And so one of our, big events every year is we have a sew and grow event, and that, where we invite different customers from the food pantries to come to the garden and grow container gardens with vegetables that they then take home and nurture throughout the summer. So everybody will leave with, tomato plants, green beans, and lettuce, along with instructions from our team on how to grow them and how to take care of them and where to put them in your in your yard or on your balcony or whatever. And so, I think really the education piece is is as important as providing the the food itself. Some of the other programs we offer are, for children. We have a children's garden party just to get them interested at a young age, in gardening and and growing your own food, kind of that self sustaining. And then also Way have events where Way, partner with other organizations at their events. So, just a lots of education.

I know in the spring, they did a seed starting class, where you know, show how we start the seeds in a a kind of protected growing environment and then trans, transplant them outside. So we really are grateful for our partners in New Albany and Gahanna and look forward to building in more partnerships as we grow our organization.

Beth, I had, some discussions with Catherine Duffy, who's the cofounder of the Garden Forward, and I was really struck by the additional value that was added to this process. Know, the founders believed that everyone's table should not only include a great meal but that added warmth of flowers on their table. To me, I just found that to be so incredible and insightful that the Garden Forward would think about that. Can you tell us a little bit more? You've mentioned about the flowers. Tell us a little bit more about how that sort of started and and where it's going now.

I think that there are you know, in the garden community, people are interested in growing Our. And so I think it was, just an idea that that, some maybe a volunteer had to say why don't we grow the flowers too. But really just kind of acknowledging that all of us are equally, deserving of the very best that the land has to offer. And so having the flowers on our grounds and then, being able to offer them in the pantries is something, that we have been told by the pantry managers. It's just such a welcome surprise and, just really a feel good moment when people see those in their, boxes or bags, when they're picking up their their groceries. So, I I, again, I think I mentioned that this organization is just really innovative. And I would say that I think that comes from a openness of ideas that wherever they're coming from. And also, I think that's what a lot of our volunteers love to come, because they really feel part of the organization and part of our future.

So, I just think, you know, we if some of us enjoy the beauty of flowers, all of us should be able to.

Well, as as most gardeners would say, there's always room for one more plant. One more plant. So you can always put a flower in a in a spot. It's like, let's put a flower there if you can't get a big you know? Always.

And we have some wonderful volunteers who are very talented in arranging the bouquets and putting them together, and it's allowed us to really have kind of a whole another group of volunteers with with special talents. So that's that's fun too.

Yeah. Yeah. Because I the term gardener has is a dual purpose, vegetable and flower. Yes. It's a gardener. It just is. So yeah.

It's a garden for all. Right? Yeah.

Exactly. It pulls into

different types of volunteers. Exactly. You bet. Well, you know, our listeners may be in need of additional assistance in their daily food needs, or know somebody in need. Are there resources you provide to those who contact your office?

We would direct, people who would call in need, to most likely the Mid Ohio Food Collective website or their organization. They have a really great listing and a database of all the different pantries and their hours, etcetera, around around the city. We also know, like, the there's a lot of resources in the city, at the libraries, for example, connecting people to resources in the community. And so we Way, again, we don't provide individuals with produce, but we provide it to the pantries. And so we would direct them to where, they could get that that food on an ongoing basis.

Way we are so lucky in our community to have the Mid Ohio Food Collective. They do a phenomenal Johnson, and that really is probably top of the list of places to call for help.

Yes, I would agree a 100%.

So Brett, you know, it our podcast, we always say they they go quickly and we have so much information and so much to talk about, but one of the things that we always do is to to tell our guests that, here's your chance for your last words of wisdom. What would you like to make sure that you've had an opportunity to tell the audience, and, any other ideas that you have that could be helpful to them or someone they know?

Yeah. I I guess I I would tell listeners to to get involved, that so there's so many ways to help in our community, and there's so many needs, and there's so many ways to share your gifts. So if you have a a passion or you have a an interest, just go for it. And I think that I've just been so impressed by the number of volunteers in our community that are just doing all a lot of heavy lifting for our community overall. And I I don't know that I had, visibility into it as much when I was working. And then once I retired and became a volunteer myself, but now becoming, getting more involved in the nonprofit space. I've just really, would encourage people to to donate their gifts and what they feel passionate about. And, you really can make a difference, really, just one and 2 people at a time.

Right. Very, very nice. Thank you.

Yeah. Well, many thanks to our expert guest, Beth NeCamp, executive director of The Garden For All, for joining us today. Listeners, thank you for joining us, and don't forget to check out our show notes on the website for contact information and the resources we have discussed today. You can find all that information at Looking Forward Our Way dot com and we're looking forward to hearing your feedback on this or any of our other podcast episodes.