In McLean, a community tucked inside Fairfax County, not everyone can access the food they need for good health. I interviewed Julie Mendoza about her efforts to connect hungry families in McLean with fresh produce.

Julie knew that Share McLean, a food pantry that serves hungry families in the area, often lacked fresh produce. As she was walking through the McLean community garden one day, she noticed that there was an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. She decided she would try to facilitate a relationship between the garden and Share McLean, calling it The Gardeners’ Share of McLean.

Young gardeners at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church grow food for The Gardener’s Share.

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Robert Snieckus (left), National Landscape Architect, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Andree Duvarney (center), Special Assistant to the Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Brian Symmes (right), “Eight Oaks” plant a progeny of one of the original oaks at “Eight Oaks” the home of Dr. Hugh Hammond Bennett the first Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service then the Soil Erosion Service at Dr. Bennett’s home in McLean, Virginia on Friday, October 15, 2010 as part of the celebration for the 75th Anniversary of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The trunk of the oak tree behind has an approximate age of 350 years.

Seventy-five years ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), was established largely because of the efforts of one determined individual—Hugh Hammond Bennett. Bennett served as the agency’s first chief for more than 15 years, tirelessly working to educate others about the seriousness of soil erosion. On Friday, October 15, nearly 20 NRCS employees and friends took time off from work and to be Earth Team volunteers, planting oak seedlings, azaleas and phlox in Hugh Hammond Bennett’s memory at his former home. Read more »