CAIRO, Ill. (KFVS) - Members of the Cairo community showed up to help prepare a food donation garden in southern Illinois.
Organizers and volunteers worked to prepare The Pilot Garden on Tuesday by fertilizing, weeding, and planting the summer vegetables.
Produce harvested from the garden will be donated to Daystar Community Program in Cairo.
Anne Townsend coordinates, leads, and trains volunteers in the Master Gardener and Master Naturalist programs for the University of Illinois Extension office. She says, “One of the things I do in the winter is: I go into that food pantry and serve people to see what kind of produce they like, to make sure we are growing that produce in the garden. So I get to hear a lot of feedback when I’m there doing those surveys. So I know this garden means a lot to the community because we are growing things they actually like to eat.”
Erin Garrett, a Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy Extension Educator for the University of Illinois says the garden helps folks make ends meet, “We know that when you go to the grocery store, food prices are insane right now. So if we are able to offset that for some folks who are not able to afford that. We are happy to do that.”
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The food donation garden is located at 413 31st Street in Cairo, Ill.
Anyone willing to volunteer at the Pilot Garden can find out how to volunteer by visiting the Pilot Garden Facebook Page.
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