Blessed Trinity Academy garden benefits Hampton-based food pantry

Fresh vegetables are lining the shelves of a local St. Vincent De Paul food pantry, thanks to the hard work of students at Blessed Trinity Academy.

A nearly $900 grant from the Sister Mary Paul Hickey Research Grant Program through Carlow University in Pittsburgh was awarded for the project in the fall, said grant procurer Meredith Kandravy, the school’s director of admissions and marketing.

Once the grant was received, students in the school’s service club worked with Kandravy to get the gardening project off, or in, the ground.

The club is open to boys and girls in fifth through eighth grades, although the group working on this project was all girls in sixth and seventh grades, said Kandravy, who’s also the service club administrator.

“The girls were really excited,” she said. “One of the big things is I wanted the girls to take ownership of the project.”

Blessed Trinity Academy, for children in preschool through eighth grade, is located in Shaler, just across the Hampton line from St. Mary of the Assumption Church, which is part of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. St. Ursula in Hampton is the other parish church.

Because the project is located on the St. Mary grounds, the service club students put together a proposal outlining the plan’s details to Father Timothy Whalen, church administrator, for approval.

Part of the plan was to provide vegetables to the parish’s St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry. Whalen was happy to approve, Kandravy said. And Chris Busshaus, who is on the church’s garden committee, helped guide the students and Kandravy throughout the process.

Seedlings were started in December, and each grade, from preschool to eighth, was given a specific vegetable to grow. This included green beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes, kale, spinach, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, watermelon and cantaloupe.

Other church volunteers helped in various ways to help make it a success. Except for a few instances — such as a cold snap in May, recent lack of rain and a few vegetable-snatching animals — the garden thrived, Kandravy said.

She is doing a lot of the upkeep during the summer, with the help of her daughter and her daughter’s friends who attend Blessed Trinity.

“Building the garden has been a great experience because we have really had to work together as a team. Plus we know that we are helping a lot of people who may not have the chance to have fresh vegetables,” said Callie Kandravy, who is going into eighth grade.

“It is also exciting seeing the things we have planted from seeds grow and actually become vegetables plus we are able to see where our food comes from,” said classmate Cayden Ferguson.

Tom Thimons, president of the St. Vincent De Paul Conference that manages and operates the food pantry at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, said the garden has been helping the approximate 15 clients. They are served every other Tuesday,

“They really appreciate any fresh produce,” Thimons said.

Like most satellite food banks or pantries, this location purchases most of its food at a discount from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. But there’s not always a lot of fresh produce, according to Thimons.

“This is a big help in terms of providing clients both from a preference and health,” he said.

He admitted he wasn’t sure how well the garden would grow.

“I give them credit,” he said about the students. “It turned out to be a great service project, and it benefits those in need that we service.”

The intent is to continue the garden throughout the school year, including teaching students about how to put a garden to bed in the winter so it’s ready for the next planting season, Kandravy said. The students even want to learn how to make pickles from their cucumbers.

Kandravy said the learning experience included lessons on helping others in need and the science of growing plants. She said the students also learned how to put together a proposal, as well as to build raised beds by following instructions and using tools.

The garden continues to thrive and grow, as Kandravy wanted, harvesting in the summer and giving any extras to the school’s cafeteria when classes start.

But helping others is the benefit.

“One of the big things is giving back to people who need it and providing fresh foods and vegetables,” Kandravy said. “It’s nice to have the ability to give something that’s homegrown.”