Ripon garden grows produce for food banks while teaching children how to sow and reap

Since 2016, Ripon has had a garden with a dual mission — supplying food banks with produce while teaching children how to grow stuff.

It began in tight quarters at the south end of town and moved in 2019 to a full acre at 929 West Main Street. It is now called Garden Joy, and it is thriving.

The nonprofit has a mix of paid and free programs. One of the latter was the field trip Wednesday, May 15, from Ripon Christian School, a short walk away.

Students learned about soil health, including the vital role of worms, and how to read a seed packet. They heard why all crops need water and many need pollinators. They finished by planting watermelon seedlings, which in a few months will yield food for people in need.

“I have learned a lot about the cycle of plants,” fifth-grader Malachi Cady said. “... I have learned a lot about bugs. I have also learned about the parts of the plants — the roots, the stems, the leaves.”

Farmers market also is on site

Garden Joy is on the same site as the Ripon Farmers Market, held in the parking lot from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursdays from May through September. The group does not sell its own produce there, but does get $35 a week in fees from each vendor. It also received a $129,000 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture in 2022.

Garden Joy donates about 10,000 pounds of produce each year, said board member Heather Crooker, who also manages the market. The recipients include at-risk children served by Sawyer House in Modesto and Ray of Hope in Manteca. Some produce has gone to the Food Initiative of Greater Stanislaus, better known as FIGS, and to the Escalon CARE Food Pantry.

Garden Joy has two paid employees, farm manager Rosel Vanderplaats and education coordinator Val Ishmael, and numerous volunteers. It lease the land from the adjacent Studio Joy, which provides Pilates exercise sessions. Having “joy” in both names was intentional, studio owner Jolene Peters said. It’s all about well-being.

Garden grows all year-round

Garden Joy operates year-round, including summer camps. The cooler months bring lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes and other fare, such as the strawberries that the Ripon Christian students picked and ate. Summer offers tomatoes, corn, peppers, cucumbers, squash and the like. The staff just planted a few trees and vines that will provide peaches, grapes, pomegranates and more in future years.

The garden is not certified organic, but it does use these practices. The soil is enriched with compost made from plant waste and worm manure. Pests are kept in check by other insects attracted by the diverse plants. The crops are irrigated with city water in drip lines.

The visitors from Ripon Christian are in kindergarten and fifth grade. One of the latter is Luke Mayfield, who was impressed by the insect microscope at one station.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “I learned that insects have six legs, two antennas, a head and a bottom.”

Fifth-grader Robin Vande Pol recounted what she had just garnered from the seed station. “You need to learn how far apart to plant them, how deep and when it grows,” she said.

First site was too small

The initial site was launched on Doak Boulevard by Sarah Darpinian and Elizabeth Schuiling. They called it Oak Valley Youth Garden and grew food for the Modesto Gospel Mission and the Manteca chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

The site was part of the Ripon Community Garden, which did not have enough room for the nonprofit to expand. That prompted the move to West Main, at the edge of downtown Ripon.

The public can arrange to visit Garden Joy at times when children are not learning there. On farmers market nights, they can find music, a beer garden and other activities along with the vendors.

And they can check on the watermelon patch planted by the Ripon Christian kids. Kindergartner Brayden Lub was among them.

“I learned about the roots and how they grow, and the seeds, and how the flowers sprout,” he said.