TEMPLE SHALOM COMMUNITY GARDEN

by Chris Kelley

The spacious homes and manicured lawns around the Transfiguration campus belie a stark reality invisible to many of us who lead busy, privileged lives: children and parents living nearby who go to bed hungry.

While many low-income families who live in neighboring rental homes and apartments can walk to the Fig, they are not within walking distance of a grocery store.

Despite its location nestled in the confines of comfortable North Dallas, the Fig resides in what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls a “food desert,” where affordable nutritious food is hard to obtain, particularly for those without a car.

For many years now, the Fig’s Food Pantry has helped mitigate food insecurity for under-resourced neighbors, and this year the effort has received an enormous boost from a partnership with nearby Temple Shalom, our neighboring synagogue on Hillcrest Road. Founded in 1965, Temple Shalom moved to its present location in 1972, and our two communities have often partnered on education, outreach, and prayer services over the years.

In 2022, Temple Shalom created a “Justice Garden” – about 80 raised beds growing fresh produce such as lettuce, carrots, and potatoes. The bulk of what is grown goes to the North Texas Food Bank, but earlier this year they began a partnership with the Fig’s Food Pantry, as well. This allows us to add fresh vegetables to the food given to 45 neighboring families, which includes 107 children under age 18, who currently participate in the pantry program.

“The Justice Garden is designed to provide food justice to people who do not have access to it,” said Jodi Dalton, one of the Food Pantry coordinators who serves as a liaison to Temple Shalom’s program. “As you can imagine, the people we serve are immensely grateful for the fresh produce. It’s been a great partnership.”

According to Temple Shalom Garden Committee co-chair Gretchen Reynolds, the Justice Garden began two years ago as an education garden, with 12 raised beds used for teaching purposes. Last December, the garden was redesignated as a community partnership opportunity, enabling it to greatly expand to over 80 raised beds. Fr. Casey Shobe and Mtr. Rebecca Tankersley attended the December dedication, where they connected with Temple Shalom’s Senior Rabbi, Andrew Paley, and proposed the idea of a partnership between the two congregations. The plan quickly gained support, and by Spring, Food Pantry volunteers were picking up fresh produce from the Justice Garden each month to bolster the food distribution.

“Temple Shalom wanted to create a space that would be large enough to make an impact in our community,” said Gretchen. “The size of the Justice Garden allows us to grow a healthy and dynamic community of people and volunteers, and we can grow enough produce to create positive change within our local food system.”

According to Rabbi Paley, “Temple Shalom and Church of the Transfiguration have had a long and wonderful history of friendships and partnerships spanning decades and clergy including Temple Shalom’s Rabbi Emeritus Rabbi Ken Roseman (of blessed memory) and Rev. JD Godwin. Rev. Shobe and I are good friends and cherished colleagues.”

This partnership helps address a huge need in our city. Dallas has the fourth highest number of food insecure children in the nation, according to the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB).

Approximately 777,690 individuals, or 1 in 8 people, confront food insecurity within NTFB's service area, with children bearing a disproportionate burden. The rate of child food insecurity has surged to 20.8%, reflecting a distressing rise from the previous year.

Indeed, Texas now leads the nation in food insecurity overall, surpassing California, with nearly 5 million individuals facing hunger, a significant increase from 2022. Alarmingly, over one-third of those affected are children.

Transfiguration’s Food Pantry was founded in 2015 and is a Community Distribution Partner (CDP) of Crossroads Community Services, serving food-insecure families in North Dallas. As a CDP, Transfiguration buys food at a cost of 12 cents per pound and gives it to the hungry at no cost. Member families receive a week’s worth of groceries on the third Monday of each month. Recipients include elderly adults, single moms, and large families. Many of the families have children who attend nearby Spring Valley Elementary.

The produce from Temple Shalom’s Justice Garden supplements the pantry’s allocation, which sometimes doesn’t include fresh fruit and vegetables. The team effort is making a huge difference in the lives of the hungry living near the two congregations in north Dallas.

“We are indeed a pluralistic society,” said Jodi Dalton, “more than sometimes you would believe reading the news, and people share common goals of helping other people. That is not a uniquely Christian thing, and is, in fact, deeply embedded in many other religions as well.”

“Temple Shalom has long dreamed of a community garden that would be a place where the community could gather and where we could be a part of the solutions for the various food issues that our neighborhood and city are facing,” Rabbi Paley said. “We believe that living our namesake, Shalom –peace and wholeness – and providing opportunities for our community to engage with each other and our families, is the best way to live our mission, vision and values.”

Jodi said the Fig Food Pantry is completely funded from donations and is always in need of volunteers who want to seek and serve Christ in others. “We are probably the easiest ministry to get involved in,” Jodi said. “You just need to show up, and we'll give you something to do. And you can stay for 20 minutes, or you can stay for seven hours, and we'll find something to do, and we'll feed you lunch, and you'll get to hang out with everybody.”

Gretchen said Temple Shalom has plans to further expand the Justice Garden. “We have many plans for the future, including expansion of programs, learning opportunities, and gathering spaces. For the next year, we are looking forward to growing into our current space.”

One notable expansion is already underway. At the December dedication, Fr. Casey presented a jar of honey from his backyard beehive to Rabbi Paley, and casually mentioned the idea of keeping bees on the synagogue’s campus. Rabbi Paley and the garden’s leadership embraced the idea, and just a few weeks ago, Fr. Casey and local apiarist, Mohsen Elendery, moved a beehive into place a few hundred feet away from the garden. If all goes well, the first harvest of honey will occur in 2025, the result of innumerable visits by these winged pollinators to the garden’s vegetable plants, as well as flowers all around our neighborhood, no doubt including on the church’s campus. If all goes well, honey may soon be added to the boxes of food given away each month to our hungry neighbors—buzzworthy news, indeed.