Going for Gold

The Gold Award is the highest level of achievement for a Girl Scout, and Alyssa Kelly is conquering it with flying colors - or, color.  She’s been using her green thumb to create a community garden that provides organic, locally grown food to the outreach office at St. Frances de Chantal of Wantagh.

The organization Meals on Wheels is a service run through St. Frances and the outreach office, and is where Alyssa has volunteered for two summers.  Volunteers deliver meals to senior and homebound members of the community who seek help from the food pantry at the church.  While volunteering, the outreach office expressed a need for organically grown food as an alternative to processed cans and packaged items.  Hearing this, Alyssa inquired about using the land next to the thrift shop for a community garden.  She was granted the land in early 2012.

Before she could begin, she had to be approved by Girl Scouts.  It required an application, interview, and had to meet specific requirements, including 80 hours of service and the project having a sustainable presence in the community even after Alyssa leaves for college.  When she does leave, a parishioner has agreed to keep up with the garden; this parishioner also donated the organic soil necessary for the project.  After passing through all of that, the Goodwill Garden could finally begin.

Since October 3, 2012, Alyssa has been taking care of the garden, tending to it daily.  She received donations for the items planted, which include several types of tomatoes, jade cucumbers, red and yellow peppers, zucchini, edamame, basil, mint leaves, and parsley.  All of the yield is donated to the outreach office, and is marked so that people know that it has been grown organically.  Alyssa has even driven some of her crops to those receiving Meals on Wheels.  The yield so far has been:

26 cucumbers

80 cherry tomatoes

6 peppers

51 large tomatoes

13 eggplants

42 edamame

2 zucchini

It continues to grow every day.

“Although at first I was nervous that I didn’t have a green thumb,” Alyssa says, “I have grown to love the satisfaction of growing organic food.  Every day that I check on the garden I see growth that makes me one step closer to filling the plates of those in need.”

In addition to the garden, she has added healthier canned items to the pantry, providing low-sodium, low-fat, whole wheat, and gluten-free products.  She has collected donations for such items through Vacation Bible School.  (Donations can still be made to the outreach office at any time.)  For questions about the garden, emails can be sent to thegoodwillgarden@gmail.com.

This is the final stretch of Alyssa’s twelve years of being a girl scout, and her time with Troop 3277.  Years of hard work and community service have culminated in this final, individual project, and Alyssa is excited to be on her way to receiving one of the most respected honors in the country.