Garden provides more than fresh food

Part of this particular load of produce was delivered to the Farmington Oaks Senior Center and Cornerstone Cafe at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Bonne Terre. The balance was picked up by the Faith Family Worship Center in Fredericktown for distribution at their food pantry.

This display is one part of the ongoing efforts of the Restorative Justice Organization at FCC to repair the harm by giving back to the community.

Dee Gordon is the Restorative Justice coordinator at the center. She explained offenders who were active in restorative justice projects worked with staff members “to try to find additional ways to give back to the community to repair the harm they caused by their criminal actions.”

This is the fourth year for the garden at FCC. The idea first came about from the inmates participating in the program.

“The idea of growing a garden and donating all the produce to those in need was discussed and found to be a viable program,” Gordon said. “Since that time, the project has become a great source of help for a number of area food pantries and other community organizations.”

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