In a sun-filled spot behind the Antioch Guest House the Perkins community garden is thriving. Started with two raised beds filled with cool-weather crops, the community garden is a project of the children, families, staff and friends of the Perkins Foundation.

The garden was initially started by a group of volunteers from Pine Lake Church in Brandon, MS. In late September, the group, headed up by Mike Burnett, built two raised beds for this fall and winter. If the plants yield fruit (or vegetables), in the spring the group will add three additional boxes for spring crops.

Burnett’s desire is to see the children of Afterschool Program take the lead in planting, tending, and cultivating the beds. The children have already learned about planting and watering. In the future they will learn about crop rotation, composting and harvesting. Keeping with the mission of the Perkins Foundation, he wants to see the youth and families of the Perkins Foundation take control, put in the work and reap the benefits of their sweat.

“We want this garden to be yours,” Burnett said to the children the first afternoon they worked on it. “[The Pine Lake folks] aren’t going to come back and take care of it. Its going to take some work on your part!”

It is not only a learning experience for the children—when they bring home vegetables to their families they will help save their parents money on groceries. Burnett said the garden, if properly worked and harvested, could yield from $500 to $900 in savings.

The hope is that the garden project will be a two year project, one that strengthens the already flourishing friendship between Pine Lake and the Perkins Foundation.