Planted with purpose: La Salle VA Clinic fights Veteran food insecurity with community garden
It’s a little garden that’s growing into a new lifeline for area Veterans.
Since May, La Salle VA Clinic Community Based Outpatient staff have planted, watered, and harvested a 500-square-foot vegetable patch for food-insecure Veterans who receive treatment at the Peru, Illinois, clinic.
Licensed practical nurse Donna Whitley said the LaSalle Veteran Community Garden will not only provide fresh vegetables to promote healthy eating but a place for Veterans to spend time in the sunshine, get physical exercise and give them a sense of accomplishment.
The La Salle community-based outpatient clinic maintains a micro food pantry for Veterans in need, but staff wanted to add a community garden to supplement the mostly nonperishable items with fresh produce, explained Sally Washkowiak, LaSalle’s registered nurse clinic manager.
It didn’t take long for the project to take root.
Within 24 hours of the request from Washkowiak, the CBOC’s landlord Joe Welte was digging the 20 ft x 25 ft garden, thrilled that the La Salle CBOC, the first of Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s clinics to plant a Veteran community garden, would be at the frontlines in the fight against Veteran food insecurity.
“We have Veterans who serve this country that don’t have food,” said Welte. “[The Veteran community garden] is the least we can do to care for our American heroes.”
La Salle clinic social worker and garden enthusiast Laura McNally echoes Welte’s sentiment.
“As someone who gardens at home, I take pride in wanting this garden to succeed,” said McNally.
One of seven employees caring for the garden until the clinic secures Veteran volunteers, McNally coordinates the securing of garden supplies, ensures the water schedule is in place, and assists in planting vegetables for the garden, which currently consists of two cherry tomatoes, two slicing tomatoes, one sweet pepper, and one cucumber as well as radishes, onions, and carrots. Fruit trees are expected to be planted soon.
“I hope the garden will provide food security for our Veterans and give them purposeful volunteer opportunities,” McNally said. “This garden is a physical representation of the comradery between VA staff and our Veterans we proudly serve.”
The La Salle VA Clinic provides primary care and specialty health services to 2,518 Veterans. It is one of Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s six outpatient clinics. All clinics maintain micro food pantries for Veterans in need. Hines VA Hospital hosts a food pantry every Thursday. To become a gardening volunteer at La Salle, or to donate nonperishable food items to La Salle VA Clinic, contact Sally Washkowiak at 815-223-9678 ext. 29407.