Madison Gardner Supplies Soup Kitchen With Organic Produce

The following was submitted by the Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center:

Morristown’s Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center is a weekly recipient of organically grown produce from local Hoop Houses.  

At a time when the price of fresh produce is out of reach for many poor families, Stephan Stocker, of Madison, and his crew of volunteers are providing farm fresh, organic produce year round to Community Soup Kitchen guests.

Two years ago, Stocker built four hoop houses nestled in the back of the Madison Community Garden.

Stocker used plans from www.motherearthnews.com to construct tunnels of plastic pipes and sheeting. Funding was provided by Sustainable New Jersey. By using succession planting and a selection of winter hardy vegetables he is able to plant and harvest—even in the cold of winter.

Stocker ferries pounds of produce to the Community Soup Kitchen each week. The veggies are distributed for free to families in need who come to the Soup Kitchen’s Healthy Choices Market on Mondays and Fridays at 1 p.m.

He was inspired by Eliot Coleman whose philosophy is the four season harvest. Stocker, who is also an environmental commissioner for the Town of Madison, hopes every community garden will build hoop houses so they could donate 10 pounds of produce to local soup kitchens each week, year round. The amount he delivers depends on what is in season. A prolific bed of lettuce may total 30 pounds when picked while the same bed planted with cucumbers could yield 300 pounds.

Recently, the houses were cultivating a variety of lettuces, chard, radishes, snap peas, and bok choy. Once harvested they will be replaced with a selection of peppers and cucumbers, followed by squash

Community Soup Kitchen guests are appreciative of whatever Stocker brings, especially because they know much of the produce was picked the same day it is distributed in the dining room.

There have been challenges including an aphid invasion and heavy snowfall which collapsed one house, but Stocker persevered. Upgrading to three-quarters-inch pipe, the houses were then able to handle the weight of numerous snowstorms. Even with this year's extremely cold winter, the seeds did not die, but went into hibernation for several weeks. This pushed the harvest a few weeks behind schedule, but the Community Soup Kitchen was thrilled to receive the produce when it arrived.

If you are a gardener, consider planting a row for the Community Soup Kitchen this spring. Call the Community Soup Kitchen office at 973-267-0709 or nancy@cskmorristown.org to schedule a drop off time.