Annual Labor Day breakfast overflows church yard

LIHU‘E — Stuart, Jillian and Ava Collison of Perth, Australia, never fully understood the depth of breakfast until they visited the annual Labor Day Breakfast Monday at Lihu‘e United Church.

Stuart’s dad, David Collison, was one of the church parishioners who helped Paula Cobb launch the church’s garden on March 20, 2010.

“He and Tim Crane were some of the church members who helped dig, till and form the rows for the 40-feet by 50-feet plot, which was formerly part of the church yard,” said Cobb, one of the garden leaders.

The breakfast served on Labor Day benefits the garden, which provides food to help service the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry hosted by the St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lihu‘e.

“I was amazed at how little fresh food was being served for the families during the weekly food distribution,” Cobb, who volunteers with the pantry program, said. “A lot of it is dried fruit and government-issued items. There are no vegetables or fresh fruit unless the church members occasionally bring some in for sharing.”

The situation prompted Cobb to approach the Lihu‘e United Church trustees about forming a garden to help serve the 120 families (on average), which patronize the Loaves and Fishes pantry.

She noted the weekly food distribution at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church will change from Wednesdays to Tuesdays starting Sept. 12 from 9 to 11 a.m.

“Today, we bring between 110 to 120 heads of lettuce, two big boxes of bak choi, okra and bunches of basil to the weekly distribution,” Cobb said. “Last year, we planted eggplant and had as much as 150 eggplants, weekly. We also had beans and other seasonal vegetables.”

She said during one of the church services, visitors Judy and Kelly Foss heard about the garden and they were so impressed they contributed money to expand the program.

“We were servicing about half to two-thirds of the people coming to the Loaves and Fishes program,” Cobb said. “The Foss’ said they wanted the garden to expand to be able to take care of all of the people.”

With the contribution, Cobb said the garden was expanded to 50 feet by 70 feet in March, a storage shed was constructed, irrigation system installed, a fence to help with the feral chicken problem installed and a covered preparation and planting area created.

She is looking ahead at trying to sustain the bounty, considering selling fresh produce to church members at a low cost following Sunday services, and possibly starters for people’s home gardens.

“What we need now are volunteers,” Cobb said. “We’re here every morning between 9 a.m. until at least noon. However, I don’t come in on Fridays and Sundays and people are welcome to come and help.”

She said in addition to learning about gardening, volunteers are able to share in the garden’s bounty, once a week.

“They don’t need to know anything about gardening, but as they learn, hopefully, they can create their own home garden,” Cobb said, noting one of the volunteers who received a complimentary breakfast ticket didn’t know anything, but now has his own home garden.

Jim Milford said when he first started volunteering, the place was filled with weeds.

Monday, he groomed beds of lettuce, applying mulch, which was provided by one of Crane’s friends.

Harold and Ka‘eo Bradford, peeking through the hedge, could not resist the allure of the neat fenced garden, with Harold offering his help because they “live just down the block.”

“I can do, maybe one day a week,” Harold said. “It’s not much, but I can help since we live down the street.”

Pastor Wesley Elmore said the annual Labor Day Breakfast has always assisted some community effort, with previous meals helping with disasters in Samoa as well as local movements, such as the food banks and other community nonprofit organizations.

Jewel Asai said the church is also gearing up for its annual fundraiser for church missions.

To aid in the effort, parishioners also offered a benefit car wash for breakfast diners who could enjoy a variety of entertainment while feasting on an array of breakfast goodies.

For more information on volunteering for the church garden, call the Lihu‘e United Church office at 245-6253 or call Cobb at 245-4738.