Some of the volunteers who maintain the garden at Mt. Gilead Full Gospel International Ministries. Parishioner and horticulture expert “Captain” William Dugger Sr., who leads the effort, is pictured at right.
If you are driving along Route 10 near the Chesterfield Food Bank around 5 p.m. on a Friday, you will likely get caught up in a double-lane traffic jam that often extends up to 2 miles. The source of the bottleneck is food bank distribution.
Among the bounty distributed is a generous portion of organic, farm-to-table produce from Mt. Gilead Full Gospel International Ministries in Richmond. The church delivers fresh produce to several locations in and around Chesterfield, with the food bank its largest recipient.
“So far, in 2020, we have harvested over 15,000 pounds of produce,” says parishioner “Captain” William Dugger Sr., who leads the effort. “We haven’t finished with the fall yet — fall harvest is in the ground.” He is expecting a yield of several thousand more pounds before year’s end.
At a time when unemployment is at 8.4% nationally, there is a great need in fulfilling basics such as food, says Kim Hill, CEO and director of the Chesterfield Food Bank.
“Before COVID, we were serving 8,000 to 12,000 people a month,” she says. “Now we serve 30,000 or more each month, and Mt. Gilead’s contribution delivers produce that has quality comparable to the produce that is quite expensive at the store.”
Dugger gathers crates of greens for distribution to Chesterfield Food Bank.
Mt. Gilead has provided produce for the food bank for three years.
The garden came to life after Dugger spoke with Bishop Daniel Robertson Jr., who leads the church. Dugger mapped out a plan for how he felt the garden could work.
“I wanted to show the bishop how we could grow a garden for the church,” he says. “I presented the plan, and Bishop [Robertson] liked the idea, saying we could feed the hungry, give to food banks and cook food for the community. “
Starting with 10 acres of land, a 54-year-old tractor with a tendency to break down and three other pieces of old farm equipment, Dugger says the church harvested about 6,000 pounds of produce in 2018. Land-clearing services, compost and two more tractors were donated to help the effort, and last year the church established a Seed and Feed Ministry. A couple more tractors were added last year to increase the yield. This year, the ministry may produce close to 20,000 pounds of organic produce.
The garden now has 14 fields, with three just cleared in mid-September. The land owned by the church also includes 31 apple, pear, cherry, peach, plum and fig trees and 21 grapevines. A team of 18 volunteers maintains the land and includes individuals from the church and the community.
Dugger says the fall harvest in October will include butternut squash, cabbage, kale, collard and turnip greens, broccoli, pumpkins, and more.
The church’s efforts serve the community beyond food, too. The ministry invites young people to the property to learn about planting, growing and harvesting vegetables. Dugger believes it is important for children to learn and understand where their food comes from, just as he learned watching and working with his mother in her garden when he was a child growing up in Emporia.
“My mother would grow her own vegetables and give much of it away,” he says. “She did it until she died.”
After serving in the military, Dugger moved back home and decided to resurrect his mother’s garden. He grew cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and black-eyed peas and gave away what he did not need.
“I always thought there was a need for fresh vegetables, and when I started the farm again, [I] would give to the church, to elderly,” he says. “I always gave away the first of the harvest, just as my mother did in appreciation of what God had done for her. I kept it up, following in her footsteps.”
In 2013, he moved back to the Richmond area when he reconciled with, and remarried, his ex-wife. When he learned of the church’s desire to create a garden to provide food for the community, his love of gardening pushed him to lead the effort.
(From left) Volunteers Eddie Belfield, Stanley Rayfield, Desmine Greene and Nicholas Briley load up produce for transport to the food bank.
In addition to picking up produce at the Chesterfield Food Bank, individuals may make an appointment to visit the farm and learn how to grow vegetables on their own land. Dugger says they advise on gardens large and small.
“We teach people, they see things differently, and eat better, healthier,” he says. “I am expecting great things for next year.”
While the church plans to help Chesterfield Food Bank start to grow produce on its own land in the coming year, the next stage in growth for the church’s garden is raising chickens to produce organic, cage-free eggs.
“With COVID-19, we want to do more, to help feed more people,” Dugger says. “Growing fresh vegetables — there’s nothing like it, and that’s just the beginning.”
Hill says that in the past the food bank has only served residents in Chesterfield, but at this time of need they are willing to help others as well. And, at such a critical time, Mt. Gilead’s growth has been instrumental to the food bank’s ability to accommodate the increased need in the community.
“We are honored to be one of the biggest recipients of their produce,” Hill says. “[Mr. Dugger] must pray over every plant, because quality and beauty doesn’t get much better than what Mt. Gilead provides.”
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