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SALT LAKE CITY — For Pat Thomas, gardening is all about growth.
"I was reared in a family of gardeners," she said. "We always had a vegetable garden. We always ate from it. We knew that there was huge value in fresh produce, and that there was wisdom in growing your own, because you could always eat anything you wanted."
Her green thumb sprouted and flourished, and she's kept up her family's tradition throughout her life. Even when she lived in apartments, she would rent a spot at a community garden.
And aside from planting her hands in the dirt, her other great love also involves the outdoors: Thomas is a lifelong long-distance runner.
On one of those runs, she was faced with a sight she couldn't swallow.
"There's some streets I can't even run down in the fall, because the apples or the pears have scattered all the way across the street," Thomas said
Uneaten and rotting — the amount of fruits and vegetables going to waste was enough to make her stomach turn.
"I have been incredibly aware of the irony of the massive amount of surplus, juxtaposed with the hundreds of thousands of Utahns who are facing hunger," Thomas said. "I just assumed there was no way to connect the two. I thought the system would already be in place if that were possible. And then I found out it just hadn't been created yet."
So Thomas created that system herself. Her program is called "Backyard Garden Share." Excess fruits and vegetables are left at drop-off sites, then delivered to a variety of different locations, like the Boys and Girls Club in Sugar House.
"We've been able to utilize the fruits and vegetables for serving breakfast, lunch, and snack to the kids every day," said Jaimie Dunn, Club Director for the Sugar House Boys and Girls Club. "Today, they had tomato soup that was made from the tomatoes in the gardens, we've jarred tomatoes to make pastas, we've had zucchini noodles, zucchini pancakes for breakfast in the morning."
And yes, the kids are actually eating this stuff.
"They all have their different flavors," said Estela Ramos, a 9-year-old girl who enjoys the fresh food. "I think it's really good to start eating healthy."
Thomas said seeing the kids enjoy the foods she delivers makes it all worthwhile because to her, gardening isn't just about growing vegetables, it's about watching your passion bloom.
"To see this ... that's huge to me," she said. "To be able to have a small impact, that's everything to me."
Thomas has coordinated a number of locations to drop off excess produce, but she's not just asking for donations. Instead, she's looking for volunteers to help set up new drop-off sites, and for couriers to pick up that food and take it to where it's needed. Anyone interested in helping can visit Backyard Garden Share's website.
