Community gardens benefit Southland food pantries

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Carol Malcom (left) Becky Olbrich pick tomatoes from community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where they raise vegetables for Frankfort

Carol Malcom (left) and Becky Olbrich pick tomatoes from the community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where they raise vegetables for the Frankfort food pantry in Frankfort, Illinois, Tuesday, August 21, 2012. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

Rene Nolan New Lenox picks peppers while helping other volunteers harvest fruits vegetables one-acre plot lManhattan thwill be donated local

Rene Nolan, of New Lenox, picks peppers while helping other volunteers harvest fruits and vegetables on a one-acre plot of land in Manhattan that will be donated to local food pantriesTuesday, August 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

Becky Olbrich picks tomatoes from community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where she raises vegetables for Frankfort food pantry Frankfort

Becky Olbrich picks tomatoes from the community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where she raises vegetables for the Frankfort food pantry in Frankfort, Illinois, Tuesday, August 21, 2012. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

Dale Carl Bormet help other volunteers harvest fruits vegetables one-acre plot lManhattan thwill be donated local food pantriesTuesday August 21

Dale and Carl Bormet help other volunteers harvest fruits and vegetables on a one-acre plot of land in Manhattan that will be donated to local food pantriesTuesday, August 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

Becky Olbrich enters community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where she raises vegetables for Frankfort food pantry Frankfort Illinois Tuesday

Becky Olbrich enters the community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where she raises vegetables for the Frankfort food pantry in Frankfort, Illinois, Tuesday, August 21, 2012. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

Jan Smith Manhattan picks tomatoes while helping other volunteers harvest fruits vegetables one-acre plot lManhattan thwill be donated local food

Jan Smith, of Manhattan, picks tomatoes while helping other volunteers harvest fruits and vegetables on a one-acre plot of land in Manhattan that will be donated to local food pantriesTuesday, August 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

Tomatoes picked from community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where Becky Olbrich Carol Malcom raise vegetables for Frankfort food pantry

Tomatoes picked from the community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where Becky Olbrich and Carol Malcom raise vegetables for the Frankfort food pantry in Frankfort, Illinois, Tuesday, August 21, 2012. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

Volunteers harvest fruits vegetables one-acre plot lManhattan thwill be donated local food pantriesTuesday August 21 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

Volunteers harvest fruits and vegetables on a one-acre plot of land in Manhattan that will be donated to local food pantriesTuesday, August 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

Becky Olbrich (left) Carol Malcom pick carrots from community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where they raise vegetables for Frankfort

Becky Olbrich (left) and Carol Malcom pick carrots from the community garden plot near Lincoln-Way East where they raise vegetables for the Frankfort food pantry in Frankfort, Illinois, Tuesday, August 21, 2012. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

Carl Bormet picks harvests cabbage while helping other volunteers pick fruits vegetables one-acre plot lManhattan thwill be donated local food

Carl Bormet picks harvests cabbage while helping other volunteers pick fruits and vegetables on a one-acre plot of land in Manhattan that will be donated to local food pantriesTuesday, August 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

Dale Bormet weighs load okrwhile helping other volunteers harvest fruits vegetables one-acre plot lManhattan thwill be donated local food pantriesTuesday

Dale Bormet weighs a load of okra while helping other volunteers harvest fruits and vegetables on a one-acre plot of land in Manhattan that will be donated to local food pantriesTuesday, August 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

A tally night's harvest is recorded as volunteers pick fruits vegetables one-acre plot lManhattan thwill be donated local food pantriesTuesday

A tally of the night's harvest is recorded as volunteers pick fruits and vegetables on a one-acre plot of land in Manhattan that will be donated to local food pantriesTuesday, August 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

It’s a midweek summer evening, and the field behind Dale Bormet’s Manhattan home is filled with people. The sky is sunny, the temperature mild, the mood uplifting. But these folks are toiling, getting their hands muddy, their backs bending as they work the field. Twice …