A local parish and particularly one parishioner have taken a special interest in providing fresh produce to those who may not otherwise have it.

Christ Community Lutheran Church, located off Gall Road in Columbia, is playing host to a huge Servants Garden, which has been planted by a few parishioners to grow fresh produce for local food pantries.

Mark Hendershot and his wife, Susan, moved to Columbia last year, and they had been doing similar projects in Chester.

The 60 rows of vegetable plants sit on just about half an acre of the church’s property off Gall Road and are tended to on a daily basis by Mark, who lives just down the road.

The rows contain a variety of vegetables and herbs, with a “heavy focus” on tomatoes.

They have squash, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini, beets, turnips and many others.

“I ran the program by the church and they have embraced it,” he said. “Now we have church family members adopting different rows that they take ownership of.”

Some of the rows are staked with creative and colorful markers, signifying a family’s row.

The vegetables, once they’re harvested, will be distributed to many area food pantries including Hope Christian Church, Western Egyptian Food Pantry, Chester Area Christian Food Pantry and St. Paul Lutheran Church.

“If we have an overflow, we know we can go to Feed My People in South County, because nothing will go to waste,” Hendershot said. “We’re open to others, but we’ll see how it fits with our delivery team.”

Hendershot started preparing for the garden back in February, when he had several plants started from seeds in his basement.

“All the tomatoes and peppers were started like that,” he said. “We got everything in the ground as soon as we finished tilling, and we’ve been busy ever since.”

The garden is irrigated with a system that allows them to shut off certain sections of water flow when needed.

Hendershot plans to continue the garden next year.

“For those of us who have jumped on this, it’s an incredibly rewarding experience,” he said. “Right at the heart of Christianity is answering Jesus’ call to help others, and in this case, we’re trying to take care of the hunger issues in our area.”

Hendershot said working with the garden and delivering the food is gratifying for both the people providing the food and those receiving it.

“We can see the sparkle in our clients’ eyes when they go to the food pantry and fill up their supply bag,” he said. “We see firsthand the joy and the good we’re doing.”

Pastor Jared Parker made the note that food pantries mainly survive off non-perishables like canned food, so having fresh produce is valuable.

“This food is so much more nourishing and is something that bodies really need,” Parker said. “While this can’t be a year-round thing, we’re just wanting to give some dignity beyond what food pantries can typically offer.”

Some of the produce is also going to senior citizens of the parish.

Though Hendershot purchased the majority of the garden’s plants and seeds, Parker said they have applied for a grant for the future of the program to help cover some costs for the coming years.

“Initially, the groundwork is from a guy with a really big heart and a really cool idea,” Parker said.

Hendershot said he would love to help other area churches get gardens of their own started if the interest is there.

He can be reached at markhendershot@msn.com.