Steward Spotlight: Zachary Hoppenstedt
Johnson County WIC Community Garden and Orchard
This month, The Giving Grove has a special steward and orchard to introduce to readers: Zachary Hoppenstedt with the Johnson County WIC orchard. The WIC orchard is located in Olathe, Kansas, and is part of the Kansas City Community Garden’s Giving Grove program.
The Johnson County WIC community garden and orchard, stewarded by Zachary Hoppenstedt and planted in 2014, is connected to a ¼ acre garden next to the Kansas State Extension office and Johnson County Health Department. The orchard and garden were developed to educate, empower, and feed the families who belong to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Thanks to this orchard and garden, the Johnson County WIC program can provide nutritious food and health education to the nearly 4,000 area families that qualify! WIC clients who volunteer in the community garden are given the first pick of the fresh fruits and vegetables harvested. The remaining produce is distributed to clients at the Health Department and neighboring food pantries. To date, the garden and orchard have produced more than 20,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables for donation.
Volunteers plant at new tree at the Johnson County WIC orchard.
Zachary spends his working hours as a Horticultural Extension Agent with Kansas State University. He provides assistance and training to fruit and vegetable growers in Johnson County, Kansas—making him a more-than-qualified Giving Grove steward! When Zachary isn’t in his Giving Grove Little Orchard, you can find him traveling to local farms, vineyards, and community gardens to diagnose plants, identify insects, and collect soil samples.
Volunteers and garden manager Louis Seibel help Zachary maintain the orchard. The volunteers (including many who have been with the orchard for longer than Zachary) work one-on-one with WIC clients, youth groups, and drop-ins to ensure the space is maintained and productive.
“Apart from the sheer production of fresh fruit for our clients, the orchard is an educational space where community members build new skills and awareness around agriculture and natural sciences. I get to see our regular volunteers grow in their confidence level with orchard tasks like tree planting, pest scouting, blossom thinning, etc.,” says Zachary. “Socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors contribute to poor nutrition habits. The WIC Community Garden and Orchard aims to overcome these barriers by meeting volunteers where they are, empowering them with foundational knowledge, and providing direct access to nutritious food.”
Nothing is better than when we get to watch one of our volunteers pick an apple for the first time. But, I'm also partial to seeing a new gardener expertly wield their loppers and make that perfect pruning cut right off the branch collar.” -Zachary Hoppenstedt
This year, just days before the WIC Garden’s 2020 season-opening, COVID-19 stay-at-home orders went into effect. Extension staff worked to maintain the garden and plant a few items—hoping that the pandemic would blow over in a short time. But with passing months, it became clear that the health crisis would endure, and the need for fresh food in the community was at an all-time high. Some regulars, WIC volunteers, and other brand new folks stepped in to meet the need despite the overarching challenges and risks.
Thanks to community volunteers, the garden thrived, producing bumper crops of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn, leeks, garlic, cantaloupe and, of course, apples. Alongside Giving Grove's expert team, they planted new strawberries, peaches, and pears for future harvests. Overall, the volunteers helped grow, package and deliver more than 3,000 pounds of produce for donation. Moreover, the lush garden plot provided a therapeutic space and scenery for neighboring residents at the local assisted living facility and the on-site essential workers who provided services for Johnson County residents throughout this pandemic.
