CLEARLAKE ? In August 2012, North Coast Opportunities opened a new Community Action office in Clearlake. The new facility also houses Rural Communities Childcare (RCCC). In addition to a new and modern space, the two biggest upgrades to the facility are the community garden and the food pantry.
The community garden, located behind the building, came to fruition after the donation of time and money by organizations, including Habitat for Humanity.
“We”re a community asset and we like to do this kind of outreach,” Richard Birk, president of Habitat for Humanity Lake County said. “Some of the people that use the garden and the food bank are probably some of the people living in the houses we build.”
After a few meetings and site visits, they went to work. Over the course of four days, habitat staff and volunteers built raised garden beds and fencing to protect the garden.
“This isn”t your typical backyard garden,” Birk said. “It”s quite large and it took several days and a lot of hands to build.”
Once the raised beds were built, the California Conservation Corps filled them with 42 yards of compost donated by C&S?Waste Solutions. Soon after, a watering system was installed by volunteers using eight boxes of miscellaneous irrigation supplies donated by A&B Collision. Since then, a core group of volunteers have been tending to the garden.
They have installed gates, planted seeds and starts, watered, pulled weeds, thinned crops, and harvested the bounty.
NCO Clearlake has acquired seeds and plants through various sources, including donations from the Hunger Task Force, volunteers and Lake County Master Gardeners. During the winter, three beds were started with broccoli, arugula, beets, and garlic.
The arugula has since gone to seed but the broccoli and garlic are going strong. The beets were recently harvested, and tomatillos and pumpkins were planted in their place.
Currently, staff and volunteers are getting ready to put in 30 tomato plants. According to Tammy Alakszay.
Most of the work is done by volunteers. “We really want to stress that this is a community resource,” Alakszay said, emphasizing that anyone in the community can volunteer and benefit from the garden. “In exchange for a little labor, you can take home some of the harvest.”
Whatever isn”t harvested by volunteers goes into the other major addition to the new facility: the food pantry. ?
In the previous location, the food pantry was operated out of the back of a truck, with families coming to collect bags of food. Now, the pantry is a dedicated space in which families can come two Wednesdays a month and pick out the food they need, rather than getting an unknown grab bag of items.
Food comes to the pantry from all walks of the community. A donation from Rebud Community Health Care District enabled NCO to buy high-demand food items, and area hospitals have supported the pantry through food drives.
Additionally, the Hunger Task Force and county farmers often donate produce, which supports NCO”s emphasis on providing healthy food.
With more than 800 low-income families eligible to participate, the food pantry is a community lifeline.
“We”re becoming the food hub in the community among people who need it,” according to Jo Bennett.
Although the building will be a year old in August, the dedication ceremony never took place. “We”ve been so busy doing this great work that we never officially dedicated the building,” Alakszay said.
NCO Clearlake is finally planning an official dedication ceremony in August ? a celebration of its one year anniversary.
For more information about Clearlake Community Action services including the garden and food pantry, contact Alakszay at 994-4647, ext. 123.
The Community Action office is located at 14832 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.
