Sunday, October 15th, marked the last official service trip to the Ben Franklin Community gardens until next spring, and M.A.D. Club definitely ended the growing season with a bang by hosting it's largest volunteer group yet! Thirty-four student volunteers from Gilmour Academy, Padua Franciscan High School, and Mentor High School harvested broccoli, tomatoes, and much more to help close out the season at Ben Franklin.
The final vegetable count for this growing season has amounted to 2,500 pounds of vegetables for six local hunger centers within Cleveland, amassing M.A.D. Club's total harvest count to 5,000 pounds from this growing season and last's combined! Harvested vegetables include broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes, brussel sprouts, peppers, lettuce, beans, and more. Throughout the season, volunteers also helped maintain the community garden center by painting picnic tables or fences, as well as other tasks to upkeep the center.
M.A.D. Club plans on launching some exciting new projects to benefit the Ben Franklin Community garden in spring of 2018 and volunteers are looking forward to making an even bigger difference in the lives of the hungry next growing season! Stay tuned!