by the Rev. Catherine Duffy, Garden for All & St. Patrick’s, Dublin
My husband Shawn Duffy and I founded The Garden For All in 2020. I always say we “accidentally” started a nonprofit, but the truth is, like many people in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a lot of free time on our hands and–also like many people– we were deeply aggrieved about the economic impact of the pandemic on the lower-income members of our community. We planted a couple of small garden rows on the grounds of All Saints Episcopal Church in New Albany. In our first year, we grew 750 lbs of produce and donated it to two local pantries.
Five years later, The Garden For All has expanded from a small church ministry to a 501c3 nonprofit organization with multiple staff members and over three acres of growing space. When The Garden reaches its full potential, it could produce well over 100,000 of produce for food pantries across two central Ohio counties.
As our food production operation has grown and transformed, so has our budget. In 2023, the USDA, as part of the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, allocated funds to The Ohio Association of Food Banks for a program called Ohio Community + Agriculture + Nutrition (CAN). These funds reimbursed farmers at market rates for bringing their excess produce to food pantries. For The Garden For All, we have no excess– we donate 100% of what we grow. We were overjoyed to be accepted as a participating farm in Ohio CAN; being reimbursed for our produce through the CAN program helped us hire more growing staff and otherwise expand our growing operations to grow and donate more produce.
In October 2024, the USDA awarded an additional nearly-$500 million to extend the LFPA program, including to Ohio CAN. The Garden For All, along with other farmers, created our 2025 budgets to include CAN revenue, including staffing and planting plans, and equipment purchases. On March 7th, 2025, we received word from The Ohio Association of Food Banks that the USDA had backed out of its commitments for funding. The Ohio CAN Program will receive nothing, nor will its intended recipients, including The Garden For All.
The Garden For All exists to serve the community. 100% of what we grow is delivered to food pantries–that’s fresh, organic produce from our fields, to pantry shelves, and onto people’s tables almost always within 24 hours of harvest. Any cut to or funding, especially an unexpected one, limits our capacity to operate. Seen across a large scale, farmers who would have been paid for produce delivered to food pantries also need to make a living– if they can’t get paid by pantries, they will have to sell their food elsewhere in order to pay their own bills. Pantries will get even less. That, coupled with a proposed $15M cut to the state budget support of food pantries means a lot less food on pantry shelves and a lot more hungry Ohioans.
Additionally, people who consume diets rich in fresh foods have fewer chronic health problems; eating fresh fruits and vegetables can prevent stroke, certain types of cancers, and decrease the risk of heart disease and other health problems. Conversely, diets of processed foods have been shown to increase the risk of these health maladies. When children aren’t able to get the nutrients their bodies need, it can have an effect on physical development and performance in school. To that end, access to fresh produce is a justice issue, a way to try to give all people the opportunity to engage with life well-fed and physically healthy.
The Garden For All will be okay– we are a resilient and strong organization with dedicated staff and volunteers. We believe our mission is spirit-led and Christ-centered. We will not stop our work until the Holy Spirit tells us to, and now is not that time. That said, we now either have to revise downward our revenue projections and our food production goals, or we have to work overtime to raise $25,000 beyond our original fundraising goals. Multiply that across the entire nonprofit landscape and you see a lot of potential harm.
To that point, Jesus calls us to dedicate our lives to alleviate the suffering of others and to work for justice and mercy for all. He calls us into direct care for all of God’s creation– to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned. Those were literal imperatives, not metaphors. The work of bringing God’s kingdom to earth belongs to all Christians.
Episcopalians, with our commitments to justice, mercy, and love of all people, can consider living out this call in a number of ways.
- First, realize that these times are unlike what any of us have seen in this country in our lifetimes. Our government is acting in unprecedented ways, and we would do well to expect unprecedented consequences. We must consider responses that seemed out of consideration before.
- Think about how you spend your free time. Is there an organization to which you could give a few hours a week? As people get more fearful, they tend to withdraw from one another and worry about their own well-being. Resist the urge to do so– Jesus means for us to be with one another.
- Similarly, think about how you spend your money. Do you give your money to companies whose values align with yours? Do you have room in your budget to make a donation to an organization whose work you support? It doesn’t have to be The Garden For All. Nonprofits everywhere are hurting and as the economic picture worsens, individuals have less and less to donate. Believe me, your local nonprofit needs your donation to keep its doors open. Above all, remember that your money does not belong to you. It belongs to God, and God has entrusted it to you for a period of time, until it’s time to pass it on.
- Call your representatives, regardless of your political affiliation. In a representative government, you can make your voice heard. If you think that calling representatives “isn’t your thing,” go back to point #1– we must consider responses that seemed out of consideration before. Be brave. Just. Keep. Going. People need you.
- Pray. We must pray. We must ask God to be with us on this journey because there will be times when we feel hopeless and that we have lost our ability to shine God’s light in the world. We have not. No amount of hopelessness can ever stop God’s promises, and no amount of darkness can ever stop God’s love. It is our own responsibility to do the work to remind ourselves and those around us of that.
As followers of Jesus, we must remember who we pledged our lives to follow. We are Christians before we are citizens of any nation, state or city, and before any other identity we put on. That means our choices must align with that identity before anything else.
Learn more about Garden for All on their website, thegardenforall.org.
