Photo by Philip Southern Jon Adams welcomes volunteers to the Emmanuel Community Farm, 23425 Lahser Road, which cultivates fresh, organic produce to donate to Forgotten Harvest for the needy and hungry.

By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

SOUTHFIELD — Residents are invited to attend an open house at the Emmanuel Community Farm 1-4 p.m. Aug. 23, hosted by the Southfield Parks and Garden Club.

This is the farm’s second year of operation, with more than 2,400 square feet of produce cultivation through an entirely volunteer effort for charitable purposes in support of Forgotten Harvest.

“It’s an all-volunteer, charitable program, and we grow vegetables and fruits as organically as we can,” explained Jonathan Adams, president of the Southfield Parks and Garden Club. “We give every bit of harvest to Forgotten Harvest to give to soup kitchens and food pantries throughout southeast Michigan to feed the hungry. We feel real good about doing what we do.”

The endeavor was made possible through a relationship with Emmanuel Lutheran Church, on whose property the farm sits.

“The church elders saw an article in the paper three years ago that described how the Southfield City Council was having a hard time giving the club room and space on city park property to put in an organic farm to help feed the needy,” Adams explained. “It fit right up their alley on helping those less fortunate. They had this one-acre plot here that they were just mowing and hadn’t done anything with for 40 years and had talked from time to time about putting in a garden, but never had. They called me up and said, ‘We have the space, you have the idea,’ which I was very happy to hear. So we reached an agreement, and the Parks and Garden Club leases this land from the church; the water we use we pay the church for as it’s used — we meter it.”

The 3-by-48-foot and 3-by-60-foot beds features a different crop every 20 feet, as well as a drip irrigation system that is environmentally friendly and cost efficient.

“(The water system) can be turned on or off for that particular 20 feet or that particular crop as it’s needed,” Adams explained. “We use drip irrigation because it saves a lot of water; nothing gets lost through the air from sprinklers going back and forth, and you can water the individual plant rather than the whole garden, and the plants appreciate it because they get exactly what they need.”

So far this summer, with more than 700 hours of volunteer help at the farm, the club has been able to harvest lettuce, radishes, peas and beans.

“We’re just now moving into the heavier items, such as the potatoes and the tomatoes, the eggplant and pepper and zucchini and squash,” Adams said. “We hope by the end of the year we’ll have donated somewhere in the neighborhood of 600-700 pounds of fresh, organically grown fruits and vegetables, and allow people — for the first time in their lives maybe — to have fresh, right-off-the-farm, good vegetables on their plate. We harvest in the morning, and sometimes that lettuce or that tomato may be on somebody’s plate this afternoon. Not even I am used to having that right-off-the-farm type of fare to eat. It’s healthier, if not only because it’s fresh, but it doesn’t lose its nutrients going on a truck between here and there or being handled, or you don’t have to worry about it being sprayed or used with organic fertilizers or anything like that.”

The club relies completely on monetary donations and volunteer support for operation. Anyone is welcome to pop by the farm during regular working hours three days a week, grab some gloves and tools, and get to work.

Shaina Davidson, 17, of Beverly Hills discovered the Emmanuel Community Farm when she and her mom were researching different community service opportunities in the area.

They showed up at the farm Aug. 13 to help Adams with the day’s tasks.

“We turned over some dirt for them to replant some vegetables,” Davidson said, adding that it was a good experience and she’s more than happy to do it again. “I like being able to do something that ultimately is going to help somebody get something to eat. And I like gardening anyway, so it was good to use something I’m good at to help people.”

Adams hopes that others like Davidson will opt to lend a hand. Interested volunteers can show up at the farm 4-7 p.m. on Tuesdays, 8-11 a.m. on Thursdays, and 1-4 p.m. on Sundays.

“Everybody’s invited to come see what we do,” Adams said. “It’s very interesting, and maybe you’ll pick up an idea or two to use at home.”

For more information about the Southfield Parks and Garden Club and/or the Emmanuel Community Farm, visit www.parksandgarden.org or www.emmanuelcommunityfarm.org, e-mail sfldparks@hotmail.com, or call Adams at (248) 356-2281 or (248) 763-5229.