By Gloria Stravelli
RED BANK – A group of Red Bank Middle School honor students headed over to the West Side of town recently to help ready the garden at the Coffee Corral for the growing season.
“We walked over to Drs. James Parker Boulevard,” said Kathy Kansky, mathematics teacher and advisor to the National Junior Honor Society about the gardening volunteers. “It’s a 2-mile walk there and back,” she said.
Last year was the first year the students helped plant everything from herbs to tomatoes and when Courtlyn Crosson, partner and co-owner of Coffee Corral, a café on the corner of Shrewsbury Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard, reached out about them returning, Kansky jumped at the chance.
“It’s an opportunity to help out in their community, which we’re always looking for,” she said. “Especially this year when you couldn’t meet in person for half the school year.
This year 11 students qualified for the National Junior Honor Society at Red Bank Middle School and gardening is just one of the many activities they have been participating in all school year, said Kansky.
“The whole point is to really honor the service and the good deeds that make you feel good about yourself,” she said. “You’re not doing it for any other reason than just to be helpful.”
The crew that showed up to garden late last month planted beets, tomatoes and herbs.
“They put the gloves on, they dug in, they got dirty,” Kansky said.
The garden’s bounty is shared with the community.
“Last year when the kids planted they got such a robust garden. If you go to Coffee Corral, they welcome you to come back and take what you need,” she said.
According Crosson, who owns the Coffee Corral with her husband Erich, the community garden has become a popular spot on the West Side that promotes community connections.
“The National Honor Society students do the initial planting and last year the second- and third-graders came out to maintain the garden through the end of the school year,” Crosson explained in an email while on a recent overseas trip to source Arabica coffee beans.
“My husband Erich and I really try to make it a full community effort.”
The garden, she explained, is open to everyone and one of the main objectives is to engage the community and bring people together.
“Last year we harvested scores of tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon and herbs. Our hope is that any and everyone in the community feels comfortable to stop by and enjoy the garden, work on it or harvest from it,” Crosson said.
She told of a number of other children in the neighborhood, in addition to the middle school students, who have helped throughout the season to grow the crops, and café customers who appreciate the garden as much as their coffee and treats.
“There is a girl who came and did some planting in the boxes with seedlings she had grown,” Crosson said. “We have customers come throughout the year that will be out enjoying their coffee and jump in to do some weeding or harvesting.”
“One of our neighbors, a 10-year-old named Alex, comes by after school every day looking to water the garden,” she said. “He also helped Erich turn all the soil and prep the beds for the students to come plant.”
Against the backdrop of turbulent world affairs, the garden welcomes all and fosters a sense of community, Crossan said.
She and her husband started the garden hoping to bring together people from different walks of life, she said. “So far, it has done just that. We like to think Coffee Corral is a true community sanctuary and safe place for everyone.
“We all have baggage and troubles and don’t all agree with each other all the time, but when you’re at Coffee Corral you leave all that at the door or gate.”
The article originally appeared in the May 12 – 18, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
