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Last Saturday, Girl Scout Troupe 4407 woke up early to complete a community service project that will not only help the Girl Scouts learn responsibility, but also provide for children and other girls who may be hungry.

Led by Latosha Taylor, the Troupe planted a community garden at the Friendship House.

“We are in the middle of completing one of Girl Scout journeys and it serves as a community service project,” Taylor said.

When deciding where to put the community garden, Taylor said they wanted to plant it somewhere that would benefit the most people. That’s when one of the scout’s mothers suggested Friendship House.

Friendship House happily took them up on their offer and gave them a place to plant multiple types of vegetables including bell peppers, cayenne peppers, sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes.

“It’s going to show the girls how to take care of things and once it’s harvested we plan to give it to the Friendship House,” Taylor said.

The vegetables were donated to the Girl Scouts by Home Depot, who is also providing the Troupe with gardening tips.

Home Depot employee Sarah said the peppers they provided the Troupe with will take approximately 1-2 months before harvesting, while the tomatoes can take two full months, due to the hot weather.

Sarah did explain that both peppers and tomatoes are fairly easy vegetables to take care of, which gives the Troupe a little experience using their green thumb, before they replant in the spring with a different variety.

Friendship House Director Johnny Payne is thankful for the Girl Scout’s contribution.
“It’s very important for our kids to have something locally grown,” he said. “It gives them a sense of joy to take home a fresh vegetable and provide their parents with something they can cook with.”

There are currently 42 students enrolled in the after-school program who will have the opportunity to take home some fresh vegetables this season.