Living the Mission

Sharing Saint Joseph’s Roots (and Vegetables) with the Community

The University’s community garden serves area food banks as well as HawkHub, an on-campus food pantry.

Saint Joseph's wooden community garden sign with the background of the plants

Written by: Layal Srour, MS ’25

Published:

Total reading time: 2 minutes

This year, Saint Joseph’s community garden donated more than 500 pounds of home-grown produce to local food banks, including the Narberth Community Food Bank, the Media Food Bank and the Upper Darby Food Cupboard. Fresh foods were also sent to HawkHub, a food pantry and on-campus resource that works to support the basic needs of the University community.

“The community garden is a space for all people to enjoy, and we address topics such as food insecurity as well as sustainability and social justice,” says Olivia Wegener, BS ’25, psychology major and co-president of the garden.

Members of the community garden also host events in collaboration with campus organizations for those interested in gardening or want to learn more about different plants and how to help the ecosystem. Other previous events include bouquet making, how to build a zen garden with the Asian Student Organization and pottery night with the Art Club.

“We see this as a vital part of the campus,” says Bill Wolff, PhD, associate professor of communication and media studies, and director of the SJU community garden. “It is a positive, mindful space where students can come and get away from stress. And we want it to be a space where everyone knows that they're welcome and they can contribute something that not only gives back to the campus, but also beautifies the campus.”

Take a Look

Click on the circles below to learn more about the community garden.

5 female Saint Joseph's students working in community garden

1. The most donated crop in the garden’s history is tomatoes (611.7lbs), followed by beets and beet greens (427.4lbs) and radishes (208.7lbs).

2. The community garden grows lettuce, radishes, beets, chard, sweet potatoes (seen here), potatoes, tomatoes, basil, spinach and more.

3. Here, corn, beans and squash are planted in the same space to enhance the growth of each crop. This process is known as the Indigenous Three Sisters, a form of companion planting, unique to the Indigenous culture.

4. Trellises like these help vine vegetables grow tall while saving space for other crops. Tomatoes and butternut squash are a community garden favorite to grow and eat.

5. Olivia Wegener, BS ’25, community garden co-president, is harvesting fall crops before the first frost.

6. The netting around the front set of beds is to keep animals from eating the vegetables. The back set of beds has fencing around it because over the summer, local deer were enjoying the crops.