Carol Bauer is founder and chief operating officer of Garden of Health nonprofit. (Photo courtesy North Penn Advocates)
Carol Bauer featured in Q-and-A project for the women-strong North Penn Advocates Group.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a weekly series of Good Work and Good News features about positive change makers in the North Penn area. Featured is Carol Bauer, founder of Garden of Health in Hatfield. The interview features are courtesy of North Penn Advocates group and are presented in Q-and-A format.
Carol, what’s been satisfying in your work with Garden of Health?
My biggest joy is in helping people. We all need help at some point in our lives, and the families we serve have been able to find the courage to ask for help. That is a very hard thing to do. This year, we’ve distributed over 1,000,000 pounds of fruits, veggies, meats, shelf-stable foods and dairy items to our hungry neighbors from January to June 2024. We’ve hit a new record thanks to our community of supporters.
Who are the programs you consider as partners?
Jenkintown Food Pantry and over 67 agencies in Montgomery County get food from us. Other partners include Living Hope Farm, Windy Springs Farm, Sharing Excess, Hatfield Township, Clemens Food Group, Leidy’s, and hundreds of individuals who volunteer or financially donate. It will take the work of all of us coming together to end hunger in Montgomery County.
Carol Bauer speaks in May 2023 at the groundbreaking for a farm to feature a greenhouse, a beehive, a pavilion and more.Tell me three ways a community member can help the Garden of Health reach its goals.
Our farm location in Hatfield can take small and large groups. We are looking for people to volunteer as drivers, administrative helpers, warehouse workers, pickers, and planters. Find volunteer opportunities at: https://lnkd.in/egtQ3bAd. Contact U.S. Senator John Fetterman and urge him to fund our infrastructure projects; we’ve applied for a state grant. Donate and ask your employer to match it.
Do you have a particular success story to share?
People with dietary restrictions like gluten or wheat intolerance, allergies, or certain sensitivities can find the food they need here. I’ve seen a parent cry with gratitude when she could get the healthy food that her children or elderly parents needed. As far as a success story for our food banking side, several of them have told us that the distributions we are doing are keeping their doors open. But there is a lot more work to be done.
Do you have a particular success story to share?
People with dietary restrictions like gluten or wheat intolerance, allergies, or certain sensitivities can find the food they need here. I’ve seen a parent cry with gratitude when she could get the healthy food that her children or elderly parents needed. As far as a success story for our food banking side, several of them have told us that the distributions we are doing are keeping their doors open. But there is a lot more work to be done.
The Hatfield Farm was established in 2023. (Courtesy Garden of Health)Do you get any push-back?
Not really push-backs, but questions that give us the opportunity to educate the person asking the question. We help them understand that many of our clients work two or three jobs and still can’t make ends meet. Many senior citizens are on fixed incomes, and while their Social Security pay went up, their S.N.A.P. benefits went down, and all their other expenses went up.
How does Garden of Health benefit people who are not food insecure? (Or, what’s in it for me?)
When we provide healthy food to individuals, families, and seniors who are hungry, those individuals can be contributing members of our community. We all know how important what we eat is to our overall physical and mental health. Having a full stomach and eating nutritionally dense food allows adults and children to focus on their job or schoolwork. When you give freely to help someone else, you feel good and want to do more.
About North Penn Advocates
The North Penn Advocates Group (NPA) highlights and celebrates people in the North Penn area who have made a significant difference in the community. Their efforts to help others and improve life for everyone are inspiring and aim to show the power of working together.
NPA members regularly interview residents who, with the help of volunteers, are making great contributions to the community. A Facebook page under the same name posts the monthly interviews in a Q&A-style. Also included are news posts of current events or program needs. The residents interviewed demonstrate an ability to see a need, take action, and impact positive change. Their stories of pure determination, compassion, and commitment are uplifting and make us proud of our community and its residents.
North Penn Advocates includes:
— Evelyn Adam Kelly moved to the North Penn area about forty years ago, attracted to the strong school system and job opportunities. Over the years she initiated computer and speech training programs for adults, volunteered as a GSA assistant leader, and collaborated with various organizations to provide meals, supplies, and clothing to those in need. As issues like housing and food insecurity have grown, she worked to raise awareness of local initiatives. Recently, she co-founded the North Penn Advocacy group and launched a Facebook page to highlight exceptional community efforts. She believes that working together, we can accomplish anything.
— Amy Ryan Faga has been active in the Lansdale community for 30 years in many ways, including various leadership roles in St John’s UCC, AAUW member and past president, Manna on Main Street volunteer, North Penn School District elementary education teacher and Odyssey of the Mind coordinator. She believes that educating the NP community about the work being done to house the unhoused and feed the hungry will motivate donations of time, talent, and money. She’s hoping for less NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) mindsets and more YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) attitudes.
— Dr. Cathy Farrell moved to the North Penn area from Philadelphia nearly 35 years ago, finding the countryside of the Lansdale area the perfect place to raise her children. She has worked as a medical (regulatory) writer for large pharma companies over the decades, most recently working for Johnson & Johnson in Horsham. She is an active member of Grace Lutheran Church in Hatfield, and has volunteered for a number of organizations, including Lansdale AAUW, Laurel House, Bucks County Women’s Advocacy Coalition, and Sanctuary Village. She is passionate about working across organizations and perceived boundaries to develop solutions to address needs in our community.
— After being called as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Hatfield, Nancy Raabe moved with her husband Bill to the North Penn area four years ago. During seminary she was energized by the invitation to launch a feeding ministry to the unhoused in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Her passion for advocacy for those desperately in need of affordable housing continues to burn brightly. Along with the regular business of leading an active congregation, she is a published author and composer of music for the church. She also serves as president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, the nation’s largest denominational musician service organization.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.thereporteronline.com.
