Olive Street Community Garden

08/26/2026

🥗Food Literacy, Week 7! Our garden crew had a surprise cooking challenge! With items from the pantry and garden, they decided together what they wanted to make, and they outdid themselves! Tuesday’s crew make Lemony Swiss Chard pasta and Egg Fu Young minus the egg🙂. Thursday’s crew made parmesan potatoes, veggie stir fry, and eggplant parmesan. It was all so tasty, and super fun to watch them grow in their skills and confidence in the kitchen! Bravo, crew!!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

08/18/2026

🥗Food Literacy, Week 6: Mediterranean Grain Bowls! And they did not disappoint! Quinoa, roasted chick peas and sweet potatoes, sautéed peppers and onions, fresh tomatoes and cukes, homemade tzatziki sauce, basil vinaigrette, topped with feta and hummus……we have been craving this ever since!! So versatile! Our lesson was on native pollinators. Did you know NJ is home to over 350 species of native bees that are facing rapid decline? All of our native pollinators are at risk due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. Protecting native areas and increasing native plantings in our own yards is essential!!🐝

08/17/2026

LOTS of free BASIL at the garden to share! It’s a great time to make pesto or other dressings to freeze for the winter! Stop by Monday, Wednesday, or Friday between 9:15-12pm for your fresh harvest!!🌱💚😋

08/15/2026

Some of our Garden Crew enjoyed an evening at the Salem County Fair together! We love watching friendships deepen and connections grow🌱✨

08/14/2026

Update: cancelled due to rain! Stay tuned for a new date!

08/13/2026

First in a series of three Blogs by one of our Lighthouse Ministry Summer Interns!

Summer in the Garden: Part 1 July 10, 2026IntroI’ve lived in Salem for about 7 years now. The town is small, stores and businesses are sparse, and it's often quiet—except when it’s not- when chaos ensues. Despite living in New Jersey my whole life, I hadn’t known the town existed until I arr...

08/10/2026

🥗Food Literacy, Week 5: Egg Fu Young!! This recipe is cheap, healthy, and a tasty way to use up some extra produce! You can use a variety of vegetables- we used eggplant, kale, peppers, and beans, with a slice of tomato on the side. Topped with a yummy sauce we made from scratch, sesame seeds, and fresh scallions from the garden. It was a hit even with the teens who said they don’t like Chinese food…..another win! After a garden scavenger hunt, our lesson focused on understanding plants with a new perspective: as native, native aggressive, non-native beneficial, and non-native invasive. We talked about what plants are “good neighbors” and others that don’t “play well” and harm local ecosystems. At the garden, we are increasing our plantings of native plants that are both beautiful and beneficial to our South Jersey ecosystem. 🌱

08/03/2026

🥗Food Literacy: Week 4! Garden Herb Salt!! “Can we have more of that stuff to sprinkle on our food to make it taste good?” I’m glad you asked, garden crew! When the herbs are plentiful, it’s a great time to preserve that aroma and flavor by making herb salt of any variation. We used basil, sage, and rosemary. 💡Our lesson had us making our own individual food pyramids based on our current diets. Then we reviewed the USDA recommendations since 1992, how they have changed, and the new recommendations that came out this year based on whole foods. It’s encouraging to finally see health and diet recommendations based on what God has made for us to eat rather than processed food!

07/26/2026

🥗Food Literacy, Week 3! Pesto Pasta, an all-time-favorite that our crew starts asking for when the basil is looking lush! Imagine how amazing this kitchen smelled! Our lesson was linked back to Food Miles and asked “Where did my dollar go?” We tracked all of the steps for a bottle of ketchup to wind up at the dollar store, and each pair divided up 100 pennies according to how they might be distributed. We were shocked to learn that the farmer only receives 19 cents per every dollar spent, and with that they must pay all of their overhead, equipment, laborers, and then their own bills. Another reminder to buy locally when able and support farmers directly!!

07/22/2026

🥗Food Literacy, Week 2! Lemony Kale Salad with Rosemary Parmesan Crusted Potatoes. We learned how to “massage” the kale with olive oil to break down its raw outer layer and we added lemon juice, garlic, herb salt, and nutritional yeast for a robust dressing. Even the kale sceptics liked this one! The potatoes are a quick and satisfying alternative when you are craving fast food. “These are better than McDonald’s French fries!” ….more music to our ears! Our lesson was on Food Miles- how far our food really travels from its place of origin to our plates. We discussed the pros and cons of both local and global food systems, and the impact we can make when we support local farmers whenever possible.