DP News

By Sarah Hite shite@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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The Lands at Hillside Farms has agreed to allow the Back Mountain Food Pantry use of some of its land to grow and harvest vegetables for people in need.

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Back Mountain Food Pantry Director Mark Stull, left, talks with Christine Doherty, a farmer and agricultural educator at The Lands at Hillside Farms, on land in Jackson Township that The Lands at Hillside Farms is donating to the pantry. The pantry will use the land to grow and harvest vegetables for people in need.

BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE DALLAS POST

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You can help …

Volunteers are needed to assist with all aspects of the garden. Civic groups and individuals who are interested in volunteering are asked to attend a meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9 at the Lands at Hillside Farms. Those planning to attend should notify Christine Doherty in advance by e-mailing Christine@thelandsathillsidefarms.org.

“It is absolutely mission consistent with the Lands at Hillside Farms,” said Christine Doherty, a farmer and agricultural educator at The Lands at Hillside Farms. “We hope that, through education and demonstration, we can help people make healthy lifestyle choices.”

Founded in 1977, the Back Mountain Food Pantry serves residents of the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts. It is operated by the Back Mountain Ministerium, which is comprised of 24 interdenominational churches.

According to Doherty, the pantry will share two acres of land with a Luzerne Intermediate Unit (LIU) program called “Dream Green Farm,” a program that allows disabled adolescents to grow food for sale at farmers markets.

The groups will have separate parcels on the land, but the LIU students will assist with the pantry’s crops, Doherty said.

Although the Hillside Farms Dairy Store is located in Kingston Township, the land that will be used for the pantry’s garden is just up the road in Jackson Township. Coming up Hillside Road, the land is on a hill off the right hand side of the road about 100 acres past Church Road.

Mark Stull, director of the Back Mountain Food Pantry, said the pantry hopes to begin growing vegetables this spring on only half an acre to start out slowly and ensure the first year is a success.

Traditional crops will be grown such as tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, wax beans, broccoli and zucchini. Flowers will also be planted to add beauty and cheer. The land will be plowed with horses and no pesticides will be used.

“I have been an organic vegetable farmer for close to 20 years, so I don’t think any of those modern improvements (in farming) are actually improvements at all,” Doherty said. “We understand the population who will be eating this food often comes with chronic diseases…and we want to grow the most healthy, nutritious food possible for these people.”