Magaziner Farm: A harvest of hope

BRISTOL – A stray seagull with a clam in its mouth crosses the dirt road off Poppasquash, which leads to the Magaziner Farm about a mile down. Ira and Suzanne Magaziner have set aside a portion of a field to grow organic crops for the R.I. Food Bank, one of a network of half a dozen community farms.

It has been a harvest of plenty this year (but don’t ask about the pumpkin patch and happy deer), says one volunteer, Mike O’Donnell, last week.

Retired Portsmouth High School biology teacher Ray Sabourin is the farm coordinator. He and a small group of volunteers fence, mulch, fertilize, roto-till, plant, weed, harvest and box seasonal crops. He’s been here for six years and could use more volunteers; one stalwart has died, another retired.

On this glorious Wednesday morning, though, four volunteers have arrived to harvest before the Food Bank truck gets there at 11 a.m.

Volunteer Ben Rajkamur pops ripe green bell peppers into a bucket, and then transfers it to a wheelbarrow. He grew up in rural Trinidad, worked in the oil industry, and retired in Bristol to be near one of his children. He’s happy to be outside helping out and talking about – what else? – the weather, and fierce storms. His family emigrated from India to Trinidad as he explains, “We were the class called indentured slaves in India,” he says.

Ray Masse, a four-year garden veteran, estimates they’ve picked 52 bushels of tomatoes and 59 bushels of peppers. “Providing food for the hungry is so basic,” he says. He finds the work rewarding – but only wishes there wasn’t so much weeding.

Jan Stephenson from the Good Neighbors Food Kitchen in Bristol arrives in her car to pick up five boxes of food for the breakfasts and lunches served at the Hope Street site, and for the food pantry there. Once a month East Bay residents can come in and pick up a bag of food - two bags if it’s been a good month, she says.

People come not only from the East Bay and Aquidneck Island, but from Providence and Cranston to eat at the food kitchen. They are single working moms, low-income families, the disabled, and the retired living on fixed incomes.

“I registered three families in one day this week,” she says. “I’m worried come December.” She will clean, slice and freeze half the peppers she has picked up today for winter. She asks this reporter to return in winter and take a photo of the empty shelves and write about the growing needs.

“We go to food pantries. They’re the only way my kids can eat,” said Susan, a food pantry client.

Sabourin says one of the ways to alleviate hunger in the state is to encourage those eligible to sign up for food stamps, but Stephenson says it’s not something people are all that comfortable doing, especially for the first time.

Last week, Sabourin went to a community center on Valley Street in Providence, to help hand out food bags. There were too many people, he says, mostly women and children, picking up one bag of fresh produce before school started. And as delicious and fresh and organic and definitely worthy of Whole Foods, it’s just not enough. The children also received book bags, courtesy of Blue Cross Blue Shield of R.I.

Although the season is drawing to a close, Sabourin says there’s work to be done to bed down for winter. He welcomes any volunteer with a strong back, nimble fingers and a big heart. He can be reached at saboray41@cox.net.

“We have a real camaraderie here,” he says.