A church based "eco-team" leads community in sustainable food initiative

At St Peter's Episcopal Church in Bennington, Vermont, an intergenerational eco-team converted a large portion of the church lawn into an organic garden. Older members of the team shared their skills in food preservation ("putting food by") with youth from the neighboring high school completion program. The church kitchen was used to pickle and can vegetables from the garden for a local food pantry. In addition, a composting system was implemented for all food scraps from church events. In addition to raising awareness about global problems like hunger and climate change, the team brought healthy food to a community facing food insecurity. The project was not without difficulties. The church is located one block from a battery manufacturer. Deposition of heavy metals onto the soil and vapor intrusion from underground contaminant plumes have been detected. The community's water supply is not in compliance with EPA standards. After much discussion, the team decided to proceed using raised beds and imported soil. A decision was made not to test the harvest for contamination. This case study provides a model for a successful faith-based initiative in sustainability in a community facing many challenges.