WESTONKA, Minn. — The volunteers behind a church garden in Westonka did not guess what the local food shelf wanted. They asked.
This season, Westwood Community Church’s Westonka campus donated more than 3,500 pounds of fresh produce from its plot in the community Grow Garden at Bethel United Methodist Church — more than triple its original goal of 1,000 pounds.
The harvest included Brussels sprouts, kale, green beans, squash, peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, eggplant, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce, basil and dill. Kohlrabi, a crisp vegetable that can be eaten raw, is among the food shelf’s most-requested items.
“We’ve really listened to the food shelf as far as items they value,” said Dan Hays, the campus pastor.
About 20 volunteers planted the garden in the spring, and another 20 helped through the summer, signing up to water, weed and harvest. Produce was brought to the shelf each week and weighed. Chris Naylor, a longtime volunteer who had little gardening experience before the plot began, learned from YouTube videos and now guides newcomers. Elise Hays, a high school junior, coordinated volunteers through the church’s Student Apprentice program.
“It’s more than just a vegetable garden,” Dan Hays said. “It’s a way to bless people right here in this community and for our church to be a part of that.”
For food shelf patrons, the garden offers something fresh alongside the boxed and processed foods that often make up donations — a season of neighbour-love, tended week by week.
Source: Hometown Source / Laker Pioneer, Nov. 11, 2026. Illustrative photo: a raised vegetable bed — not the Westonka garden. Photo: Kerstin Namuth, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; card licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
