August 14, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Ramsey Garden continues to produce for CFA The Center for Food Action vegetable garden located on land donated by the First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey three years ago is having another bountiful year. Hundreds of pounds of fresh vegetables from the garden plot on Darlington Avenue are delivered to the CFA of Mahwah each year. In April 2011, Robert Bailey from Ramsey Boy Scout Troop 31 decided that working on a garden project growing fresh vegetables for clients of the Center for Food Action in Mahwah would be a good way to earn his Eagle Scout badge. Bailey had worked as a volunteer at CFA and it was Jim James, the manager, who asked him to help with the project. At the same time, Elder Paul Talarico of the First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey, suggested that the church donate a plot of land at the church’s cemetery to grow fresh vegetables. With the church’s approval, CFA, the First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey, and Bailey, the garden was started. A sprinkler system has also been installed. This spring, Boy Scout Troop 50 of Mahwah planted the seeds in the garden, and church members and other volunteers began tending the plants. Many of the veg- etables are now ripening, and volunteers are helping with the harvest. Because the garden is local, volunteers can bring the vegetables to CFA’s location in Mahwah, which quickly sends out fresh, ripe produce to clients. This year, members of MEVO (the Mahwah Environmental Volunteer Orga- nization) are building a chicken wire fence to ward off the groundhogs that have been invading the garden. MEVO, which includes high school and college students, is a service organization whose goal is to “promote environmental sustainabil- ity and caring about the natural environ- ment.” Members from this group have been involved in scores of projects in New Jersey and in Rockland County, New York during the past five years. The Center for Food Action is located at 90 Ridge Road in Mahwah. CFA pro- vides emergency food, rental and utility assistance, counseling, advocacy, and other services to local families and individuals in need. For more information about CFA, call (201) 529-2029. Above: MEVO members Ilana Teicher, David Nicholson, Lydia Stinson, Brittany Cronin, and Lori Dargis discuss the fence to be built with Mahwah CFA Manager Jim James and volunteer Bob Gray. At left: Volunteer Mike Commons picking the riped tomatoes. (Photos courtesy of Mee Lon Yee.)