PLAINFIELD/SCOTCH PLAINS — On Saturday, May 21, Homefirst Interfaith Housing & Family Services held its second annual Spring Planting Celebration at the organization’s community gardens in Scotch Plains and Plainfield. Participants volunteered their time to arrange wooden garden beds and plant the 400+ seedlings they had helped raise over the past two months.
Homefirst, an organization based in Plainfield, is dedicated to improving the lives of those in need in the local area. Homefirst’s goal is to help neighborhood families obtain housing they can afford and get back on their feet through offering housing opportunities as well as a wide range of other vital services. After sensing problems related to the limited access and rising cost of quality food, the organization combated the issue by creating a community garden on Homefirst property in Plainfield in the spring of 2010.
During the garden’s first harvesting season, more than 250 lbs. of produce was collected, distributed and prepared in Homefirst cooking classes for local families. Such success inspired Homefirst employees and volunteers to create another community garden on a property in Scotch Plains.
