Part of this year’s Maplewood Community Garden harvest will help feed Clinton Elementary School families during the summer. Once a week, the school sends a bag of groceries home with students who sometimes don’t have enough to eat. Beginning this summer, the organic produce that we grow will be part of the mix. The school maintains a food pantry, the only one in the South Orange Maplewood School District. It is built on donations of packaged foods donated by Clinton families and through Rent Party events. Deliveries are made on Friday. This helps families get through the weekend when kids are not eating breakfast and lunch at school.

Since our harvest happens when school is out for the summer, we are working with administrators to bridge the gap. In summers past, deliveries stopped for a few weeks and families were sent to other sources for food. We are hoping to keep things going this summer.

Eight families are currently part of the program. We are thrilled to make this connection and are reaching out to other organizations to help our community thrive.