Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, June 11 - 17, 2015
LOCAL
Page 3A
Community garden,
church collaborate
to feed thousands
Henderson Park Community Garden Club celebrated its fifth anniversary in April. Photo provided
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Community gardens are
used by some people as an
option to access food out
side of grocery shopping.
Community gardens are
also used for giving back
to those in need. In its five
years of existence, Hender
son Park Community Gar
den has had a partnership
with Friends of St. Martin de
Porres food ministry at Holy
Cross Catholic Church in
Tucker.
Founded in 2010, Hen
derson Park Community
Garden is one of the first
100 percent organic gar
dens in DeKalb County.
The garden consists of 55
plots, including four that
are specifically for growing
vegetables and herbs for the
food ministry.
“Friends of St. Martin
de Porres’ food ministry at
Holy Cross Catholic Church
is the closest food pantry to
the garden, and the only one
in Tucker,” said Cara Schro-
eder, community liaison
director for Henderson Park
Community Garden.
The mission of the
garden is to “strengthen
community, enable the cul
tivation and consumption
of wholesome, homegrown
food, provide an environ
ment for hands-on educa
tion in organic gardening,
foster an intergenerational
gardening experience and
enhance the beauty of
neighborhood greenspace.”
Schroeder said it is rec
ommended that a commu
nity garden share its surplus
vegetables and fruits with
those in the community. The
garden partnered with the
food ministry because of its
proximity and the needs in
the community.
“The Henderson Park
Community Garden is all
about sharing our surplus
and sharing other opportu
nities to expand into grow
ing fruits and vegetables
and sharing information,”
she said. “In the end, it was
just one of those things that
evolved because they are the
closest food pantry. We have
12 volunteers who look over
those [four] plots. We have
two volunteers who pick up
fruits and vegetables from
the garden and deliver them
to St. Martin de Porres on
Tuesdays.”
Sam Taylor, who vol
unteers with Friends of St.
Martin de Porres, said the
garden has donated more
than 3,300 pounds of food
in the past four years.
Since 1982, Friends of
St. Martin de Porres food
ministry has operated a
food pantry that feeds the
homeless and provides
nutritious food items to
school children in need. It
provides food for more than
3,500 people “in crisis” each
month, according to the
church’s website.
“In 2014, we provided
food to about 7,500 fami
lies,” Taylor said.
The garden also has
See Garden on page 9A
TENTATIVE BUDGET FOR
DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
JULY 11, 2015 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2016
General
Special
Debt
Capital Sch. Nutrition
Trust
Total
(K-12)
Revenue
Service
Outlay
& Athletics
& Agency
Anticipated Funds Available
Local Taxes
$427,865,868
$0
$105,373,471
$9,327,307
$542,566,646
Other Local Sources
11,416,925
$13,221,431
$54,000
24,692,356
State Funding
435,564,835
18,883,958
43,748,752
498,197,545
Federal Funding
69,678,301
8000000
77,678,301
Other
16,735,000
16,735,000
Total Revenue Anticipated
$874,847,628
$101,783,690
$0
$105,373,471
$61,076,059
$16,789,000
$1,159,869,848
Transfers from Other Funds
$3,294,072**
$1,332,000
$1,000,000
$5,626,072
Beginning Fund Balance 7/1/2015 *
$80,870,650
($7,800,922)
$64,075
$288,507,568
$2,311,398
$3,237,951
$367,190,720
Total Funds Available
$955,718,278
$97,276,840
$1,396,075
$393,881,039
$64,387,457
$20,026,951
$1,532,686,640
Budgeted Expenditures
Instruction
$582,209,159
$67,471,034
$31,500
$649,711,693
Pupil Services
38,045,492
2,989,293
41,034,785
Instructional Staff Services
13,321,077
16,079,030
29,400,107
General Administration
13,296,735
3,716,487
$702,000
17,715,222
School Administration
56,628,344
95,074
56,723,418
Transportation
51,819,011
858,164
52,677,175
Maintenance & Operations
84,225,035
75,900
4,000
84,304,935
School Nutrition
57,788,234
57,788,234
Capital Outlay
5,816,237
6,028,913
$81,195,327
949,743
93,990,219
Support Services
23,495,039
780,472
1,599,324
20,000
25,894,835
Other Support Services
1,409,099
2,923,751
4,332,850
Debt Service
1,490,512
$1,332,000
2,822,512
Agency
220,000
16,730,000
16,950,000
Transfers to Other Funds
2,514,250
779,822
1,332,000
1,000,000
5,626,072
Total Expenditures
$874,489,990
$101,797,940
$1,332,000
$82,527,327
$62,043,301
$16,781,500
$1,138,972,058
Ending Fund Balance 6/30/2016
$81,228,288
($4,521,100)
$64,075
$311,353,712
$2,344,156
$3,245,451
$393,714,582
Total Funds Allocated
$955,718,278
$97,276,840
$1,396,075
$393,881,039
$64,387,457
$20,026,951
$1,532,686,640
* NOTE: Beginning fund balances are estimates based on the March 2015 Financial Reports
** NOTE: Includes Transfer in from After School Programs
Adoption of the Approved Budget for Fiscal Year 2015-16 is scheduled for the official meeting of the DeKalb Board of Education at 7:00 P.M. on June 17, 2015, in the Board Room at 1701 Mountain
Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083.