Project Self-Sufficiency is seeking volunteers to assist with planting, maintenance, and harvesting of fruits and vegetables from the community gardens at the agency’s Newton campus. Volunteers would work alongside seasoned horticultural professionals, Monday – Friday. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. Hours are flexible and no experience is required.
Project Self-Sufficiency’s Newton campus is home to numerous vegetable gardens which bear all kinds of crops for consumption by the agency’s low-income participants. During the summer, hundreds of potted tomato plants also wreath the sidewalks throughout the 5-acre campus. Produce is harvested daily and offered to agency participants at Project Self-Sufficiency. Baskets are also provided for families to cart the bounty home and share with their children. Participants are given tips on cooking and nutrition along with the food, and the children at the agency’s Little Sprouts Early Learning Center help with the harvest while learning about healthy eating habits.
“Fresh, nutritious food is of paramount importance for all families,” comments Project Self-Sufficiency Executive Director Deborah Berry-Toon. “The community gardens at Project Self-Sufficiency are a living example of the love our volunteers have for gardening, and just as importantly, for the dedication they have to the mission of ensuring that the most vulnerable members of our community have an equal opportunity to access fresh produce.”
To volunteer to work in Project Self-Sufficiency’s community gardens, or to find out more information about the programs and services available at Project Self-Sufficiency, visit the agency’s website www.projectselfsufficiency.org or call the agency at 973-940-3500.
Project Self-Sufficiency is a private, non-profit organization, empowering low-income families to achieve economic self-sufficiency and family stability in semi-rural, northwestern New Jersey. Since 1986, Project Self-Sufficiency has served more than 25,000 families, including over 30,000 children. We offer a full range of services for low income single parents, teen parents, displaced homemakers, and two-parent families, including computer classes, resume preparation, help with interview skills, legal education, parenting workshops, help with emergency basic needs, counseling, case management, support groups, life skills preparation, financial workshops, family activities and childcare.
