How Does Your Garden Grow?

The grand opening of the Sadie Vickers CommUnity Garden was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 12 at the site of the garden on First Avenue in South Toms River. Developed in collaboration with the Sadie Vickers Resource Center and Community Medical Center, RWJ Barnabas Health, the garden will help to combat hunger in underserved communities in Ocean County. The Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Barbara Jo Crea, State Sen. Carmen Amato, State Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, both 9^th District joined with Patrick Ahearn, Chief Executive Officer of Community Medical Center, Mark E. Manigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJ Barnabas Health, Rev. David Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the Sadie Vickers Resource Center and the Rev. Barbara Miles, Community Chaplain Liaison and Community Medical Center Board Member and Hospital Trustee, in recognizing volunteers and the many helping hands that created the garden. The garden will offer access to healthy foods and nutrition and wellness education throughout the year in an area that lacks supermarkets or easily available produce and other nutritious foods.