Taking the Time to Make a Difference

“I wish more people would know about what he did, the good he did for so many people.” That was the comment of a friend of mine, during a recent conversation about a mutual acquaintance who had passed away. I had a similar wish — that I too could be one of the people who learned more about the good works of Deacon Joseph Blankenberger – especially what he did for the Garden Patch project in Evansville, Ind. Terri Lautner-Uebelhor at Catholic Charities filled me in. Garden Patch was a summer program designed to provide fresh produce to Senior Citizens and lower-income families, she said. Farmers and gardeners would bring surplus produce to one or two collection points in the city, where it was made available for a small price. Joe had a more generous way, of course. He did not bring in left-over sweet corn or other items from his surplus. He planted extra rows so he could contribute an abundance of fresh, home-grown items. He thought about what would be helpful for others at the time of planting, not only after a bountiful harvest. “Catholic Charities was so blessed to have Joe as a part of Garden Patch,” said Terri. “The project simply couldn't have happened without him. His generosity and care for the poor was evident.” Joe’s diaconal ministry at times involved vesting and serving at the altar. But as Terri concluded, “It was truly a holy experience to spend time with him in his gardens.” Deacon Blankenberger was engaged in the Garden Patch project from the mid-1980s until the program closed in 2006. Garden Patch served an average of 500 families a year. Each family took home an average of six bags of produce, paying 25 cents a bag. The produce was available two times a week. In the last year of its operation, Garden Patch took in $958, which was presented to the local St. Vincent de Paul Society Food Pantry, which continues to provide fresh produce in season and good food all year round for those in need. Why has it ended? The program could not sustain itself due to the increased need for volunteers, according to Terri. Catholic Charities now refers people in need of low cost healthy food to Angel Food Ministry and to the many pantries in our communities. I am sure that many people were aware of Joe’s generosity. I am just as certain that many more had no idea of what he did, the good he did for so many people. I am even more certain that he would be embarrassed at this kind of attention.

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My wish is that any attention given to what Joe did would challenge others to do the same. Some of us need to examine the Scriptures to find encouragement to feed the hungry. Or we might need to read a papal document that insists, as Pope Benedict XVI does, that “food is a right” and that it is integrally linked to the right to life. There may even be among us some who would challenge the notion of “needy” and insist that no one really needs fresh-from-the-farm sweet corn, or home-grown tomatoes. Table scraps and leftovers will do. To my way of thinking, Joe was doing God’s work, following the divine example of giving to others the best he had.

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Take the time today to discover what projects and programs are available in your community to provide food for people in need. Find a way to be useful. If you have children, help them to learn not only that there are hungry people in the world, but that there are others who give a portion of what they have so that others will have enough, too. Take the time to plant an extra row of sweet corn. Or buy an extra can of green beans at the grocery store to share with the people who come to the food pantry. Take the time to thank God for what you have in abundance, then use it to make a difference.

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