Spring ? Summer - St. Margaret's Hospital

at freedom from the addictions, homelessness or prison stays that
have ruled their lives.
In addition to their work here, the interns work two days a week
at gardens in the city. The seven-month program runs April through
October so that interns can work through the whole growing season.
Working with staff, they learn skills such as planting, cultivating and
harvesting as well as marketing and sales techniques, which they can
put into practice while working at the urban farm stands.
Interns, who earn a stipend for their work, also receive an
education in basic life skills, such as nutrition and money
management. Free GED-preparation courses are also offered,
through a partnership with Kennedy King College in Chicago.
“The most satisfying thing about this program is that it’s based on
doing something productive,” says farm manager Larry O’Toole.
“I’ve lived in halfway houses that provided people with places to live,
but this requires us all to work together in the fields.”
The program also provides interns with a work history and handson
experience, tools that will help launch them into the workforce.
“All that some programs teach, such as basic skills, writing resumes
and mock interviews, are great and we use them. The problem is,
some of these people need more time to get back on their feet,” says
Larry, who notes that a lack of solid work experience often makes it
difficult for people to get or keep jobs.
The Marseilles farm grows everything from asparagus to zucchini.
Local residents can purchase shares for the spring, summer and fall
growing seasons, through the Community Supported Agriculture
(CSA) program.
Shares are prepaid per season, but come out to about $28 per week.
Each week, shareholders stop by the farm to pick up a box packed
with an assortment of freshly harvested and cleaned organic
vegetables. In the spring, shares include such things as early greens,
herbs and asparagus; summer brings tomatoes, broccoli, carrots,
onions, beans, and much more, while fall shares offer late-season
peppers, hard-shelled squashes and spinach, among other things.
“The people who come to the farmers’ market are really ‘foodies,’”
says Tracy Noel, who supervises the CSA program. “They know
when they get the produce home, they’ll have something different
(from what they’d find at the supermarket).”
Like Larry, Tracy has a background in sustainable and organic
farming and working in public-service programs. Prior to working
with Growing Home, she launched a gardening program for at-risk
teens in Oregon. She enjoys the enthusiasm of the interns as they
embrace their new skills.
One of the 2008 interns, Margaret, had spent 25 years addicted to
drugs and alcohol. Last summer, as she worked in the garden, she had
been sober for nine months and was looking forward to moving out
of a residential rehabilitation facility and into an apartment of her
own and pursuing a college degree. “I’m working on all my abilities:
accountability, respectability,” she says, reflecting on the changes in
her life.
Allen, another 2008 intern, has a criminal record of robbery,
carjacking and theft, spurred by his drug addiction. At first, Allen
had his doubts about the program, but he says he has gained much
from his participation. “I said, ‘I am not going to no farm,’” he
recalls. “But now that I’m here, I’ve learned a lot. It’s let me know
that what I put my mind to, I can do.”
So far, more than 100 interns have graduated from the program.
According to the program web site, 90 percent end up renting
apartments or finding stable housing, and 65 percent go on to a fulltime
job or additional job training.
As Larry O’Toole observes, of both the vegetables and those who
tend them, “Healthy seeds produce healthy crops.”
For more information about Growing Home or purchasing a CSA
share, visit www.growinghomeinc.org.
spirit | spring.summer 2009 11