“How Does Your Garden Grow” Lecture Series to Benefit Food Pantry

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The Crozet Farmers Market in association with the Crozet United Methodist Church (CUMC) will host a gardening lecture series titled “How Does Your Garden Grow” to benefit the CUMC Food Pantry.

Crozet Farmers Market manager Al Minutolo has brought together expert gardeners Peter Hatch, Monticello’s retired director of gardens and grounds, and Lesley Sewell, a certified landscape designer, arborist and adjunct professor of horticulture at J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College, to share their gardening knowledge. The lectures are for new and veteran gardeners alike.

In recent years, vendor fees from the farmers market have been donated to the food pantry. In 2013, the market donated $750 to the food pantry and to the soup program conducted by Tabor Presbyterian Church.

The pantry is a USDA-approved facility that serves 120 to 170 families monthly, feeding as many as  300 people, including more than 100 children. The average monthly food distribution is 3 to 4 tons. Cash donations are important to the food pantry and are a significant multiplier for the purchase of food at the local food bank. Although food costs vary, $1 will often purchase 8-12 pounds of food.

Two lecture sessions will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the CUMC at 1156 Crozet Avenue. Each session offers two lectures.

On April 15 at 7 p.m., Hatch will discuss “Fruits, Roots, and Leaves, My Favorite Garden Vegetables.” Minutolo will follow with “Gardening 101: Getting Started.”

On April 15 at 7 p.m., Sewell will discuss “Gardening with Deer and Other Wildlife.” Minutolo will follow with “The Great American Lawn.”

Donation is $10 per person for each session and will go to the food pantry. Seating is limited. RSVP to 434-823-1092 by April 10 if you plan to attend.