Weed and feed

You can get a free meal once every two weeks in Moab.

Only thing is, you have to work for it.

Youth Garden Project hosts a Weed and Feed on Wednesdays, every other week throughout the growing season. It has been hosting the summer work parties for at least the past decade.

“Most often we do weeding projects, but there can also be planting and mulching projects, too,” said Delite Primus, director of Youth Garden Project.

This week the work will be weeding garden beds.

The work is done from 6 to 7:30 p.m., then dinner is served.

Youth Garden Project has a commercial kitchen on-site and hosts dinners throughout the year. WabiSabi holds their Sunday brunches for the community at Youth Garden Project in January and February. Youth Garden Project also holds Garden Dinners a few times a year as fundraisers to provide summer programming for children.

For this dinner, however, you only need to arrive with the desire to work and be fed.

“We have hand tools and gloves and anything people need for the projects we will work on,” Primus said. “People just need to show up.”

Primus said that the number of people showing up to work varies from week to week.

“Some weeks we’ll have 20, some weeks we have 50,” she said. “Families, individuals, groups of friends and all ages are welcome.”

The garden is already producing peas, kale and salad greens that will be used for the dinner. There are also frozen and preserved food from last year’s harvest that will be used for the dinner.

“We are always looking for volunteer cooks,” Primus said. “If anyone is interested in cooking on a Wednesday, give us a call.”

Youth Garden Project provides all the ingredients.

“They just need to make it into a meal,” she said.

Youth Garden Project is also selling their produce at the Moab Farmer’s Market they put on from 5 to 8 p.m., each Thursday at Swanny City Park.

In addition to the peas, kale and salad greens, they have herbs like basil, rosemary and chives for sale.

Author: Kristin Millis

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