Westminster Presbyterian Garden
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 4515 S. 14th St., will have a grand opening for the planter box garden it is building in conjunction with the New Roots Farms program of the International Rescue Committee. The grand opening will be held on Saturday, April 18, the weekend before Earth Day on April 22. It costs an estimated $65 to purchase supplies to build one box. Checks should be made payable to Westminster Presbyterian Church. Put “Planter Box” in the subject line and mail to the church. 

New Roots Farms
The following is from the International Rescue Committee’s website. Click here to learn more. 
“The International Rescue Committee’s New Roots program helps refugees become food secure and contribute to their new homes and communities. Since 2008, New Roots has helped new Americans to navigate their food resources, facilitated low-income families to enter urban agriculture, developed local food systems and community green space infrastructure, and provided a platform for youth and adults to build job and life skills.”

By Loretta Fulton

The New Roots garden at Westminster Presbyterian Church will show off some new sprouts at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2, during a grand opening ceremony. 

The church, located at 4515 S. 14th St., is set back from South 14th Street, leaving a big empty spaced that begs to be filled. Work began toward that project on Saturday, Feb. 28, as church members and local refugees gathered to start building planter boxes for 12 families. The New Roots garden will be developed in conjunction with the local office of the International Rescue Committee. Those 12 families are just the beginning. 

“We’re starting with them and we’re hoping to grow,” said Isaiah Core, elder at the church and son of the pastor, Rev. Sara Core. 

More boxes will be added as sponsors become available. It costs about $65 per box to purchase supplies. Westminster will provide an irrigation system and water for the boxes. The IRC will provide seeds and plants. On Saturday, May 2, the public is invited to the grand opening ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. 

“There will be a couple of speakers, a ribbon cutting, and refreshments,” said Sara Core.

Once the garden is up and growing, it will serve several purposes. First, it will provide fresh vegetables for refugee families, including vegetables native to their home country that they can’t  find locally. Many of the refugees were farmers in their native country and know how to tend to their crop. 

Surplus vegetables from the planter boxes will either be given to other refugees or sold at the Farmer’s Market. Another purpose the garden will serve is that it will be a social setting.

 “We’re giving them community,” said Arina Gray, resettlement manager for the Abilene office of the International Rescue Committee. 

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene