Northfield Methodist Church garden feeds those in need
The first food garden was started at the John Wesley Community Centre, Etwatwa, Northfield’s Outreach project in August.
During the Covid-19 crisis, many churches and NPOs have kept communities fed through soup kitchens.
But the Northfield Methodist Church has done more than ensure food for the poor.
They have pioneered sustainable community systems for access to food by encouraging people to grow their own.
The first food garden was started at the John Wesley Community Centre, Etwatwa, Northfield’s Outreach project in August.
About 27 people were upskilled and trained by the Green Business College.
Northfield Methodist Church Mission and Outreach coordinator Lisa Johnstone said the virus has changed the way we see the world.
“As a church, we had to adapt and find new ways to be a light in the darkness and reimagine what life could be like. What was most evident is how easily the food system was disrupted, leading to a lack of access to food to those most vulnerable,” said Johnstone.
In May, the CreationCare ministry was challenged on how the church could be environmental stewards of the land while addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, who are poor and hungry.
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“It was a sense of God saying we need to reinvent ourselves and equip the homeless to grow their own food.
Give a man a food parcel and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Johnstone said so began the dream and the vision.
“It takes a community to birth a food garden, from me alone to us together.”
The church has now started its own organic community food garden, with the help of volunteers, Peter Jakobi and Knowledge Moyo, who are frequent recipients of the church’s soup kitchen but now are talented gardeners.
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