Donations from Community Gardens in New London
The New London Community Cupboard has enjoyed a plentiful harvest, thanks to donations from the Community Gardens in New London. The food pantry has received 300 pounds of fresh produce, which it has distributed weekly to the 40 families it serves. “The families are always very excited about any fresh produce we had,” said Kim Ebert, New London Community Cupboard Director. “A lot of them can’t afford to buy fresh produce. It’s kind of like a treat to them to get fresh produce.”
Volunteers at the pantry, which is open Wednesday mornings, often share recipes for families to try with their fresh produce. “So there’s always a good conversation,” said Ebert.
The Community Gardens are a collaboration between the city of New London, New London Lions Club, ThedaCare, United Methodist Church and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. The food pantry has taken in tomatoes, green and yellow beans, radishes, cucumbers, swiss chard, various leaf lettuces, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, corn, sage and basil. Squash is now starting to come in.
Any produce not being used was stored in refrigerators, including one donated by ThedaCare’s Community Health Action Team, or CHAT, as part of the Healthier Foods in Food Pantry Initiative that stemmed from the New London Plunge into Obesity. “The new refrigerator gave us extra space,” said Ebert, noting the pantry also received donations from private gardens and corporations.
All of the donations show how people do help those in need. “The whole thing all worked really well, I think, exactly as it intended to,” she said.
ThedaCare™ is a community health system consisting of seven hospitals: Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center, ThedaCare Medical Center-New London, Shawano Medical Center, Berlin Memorial Hospital, Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital, and Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca. ThedaCare also includes ThedaCare Physicians, ThedaCare Behavioral Health, and ThedaCare At Home. ThedaCare is one of the largest employers in Northeast Wisconsin with more than 6,175 employees. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
