I love this wonderful time of year when everything is blooming, and the days are much longer and warmer. Now is the time to start planting your vegetable garden.

I will be discussing three garden items and will provide a small list of food items we need for our pantry, Snack Pack Pals and children’s summer feeding program. Snack Pack Pals will be disbursed this month and again in June before school ends June 14. Thank you all for your continued generosity.

We are delighted to have Anne Chickilly and her husband, Erik Segan, oversee and work very hard to cultivate a section of the Mickley-Prydun Farm. Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative leases an acre of the garden from the township to provide vegetables for our programs.

Many of you pass by and look over at the garden while walking on the Ironton Rail Trail. The garden is between Lehigh and Center streets, close to the pool area at Hokendauqua Park.

Chickilly and Segan have chosen vegetables that are appealing, easy to cook and/or prepare and healthy for our guests. They include tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini and banana peppers. They have prepared several box beds and plan to start planting very shortly.

Chickilly and Segan are committed to providing fresh vegetables to our Whitehall and Coplay guests, who were so excited to receive them through October 2020. Chickilly helped WCHI disburse food and fresh vegetables at our Mickley Run Apartment site last year and talked about the garden.

The kids were excited to receive fresh vegetables but were slightly confused since they thought vegetables came from grocery stores.

Do you garden at your house or apartment? It is easy to plant an extra row of tomatoes or peppers, even just in a couple plastic cups on your patio or balcony. If you do, please plant a few extra vegetables to give to your neighbors and friends. For many people, gardening is very therapeutic and relaxing. But sharing your abundance will put a smile on both your and your recipient’s faces.

My friend, Allison Czapp, and I sit on the Lehigh Valley Food Policy Council. She is the director of the Buy Fresh Buy Local Program. Visit buylocalglv.org to see the positive economic impact from buying fresh vegetables from local farmers.

More importantly, I want to focus on the Fresh Food Bucks Program, which helps low-income residents throughout the entire Lehigh Valley.

Check out the Buy Fresh Buy Local 2019-21 local foods guide at buylocalglv.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BFBL_LocalFoodGuide2019.pdf. You will be amazed at all the great benefits this guide provides.

For our guests who have a SNAP/EBT/Access Card, WCHI provided information on this program last year. We will share printed materials at our pantry and children’s summer feeding program distributions once we receive them.

From the above link, “Get fresh, local produce all year long for free with fresh food bucks. It is easy to use,” according to the Buy Fresh Buy Local food guide. “You do not need to sign up to use this program. Just shop at participating locations with your EBT/Access card. For every $1 you spend on any SNAP-eligible item, you’ll get $1 worth of fresh, local fruits and vegetables for free, up to $10 a day.”

Locations are provided in the guide.

WCHI needs the following food items: regular-sized cereal boxes, granola/cereal bars with 5-8 bars per box, 24-ounce pancake syrup, small boxes of raisins, 24-pack Jumex tropical punch, 24-pack Apple & Eve apple juice, feminine products and canned dog food.

Thank you, and have a great week!