Keeping spry with fresh veggies
September 25, 2024 at 11:34 p.m.
Life now flourishes in a spot that once rarely saw it at the Rye Brook Senior Center on Garibaldi Place.
A Community Challenge Grant of close to $5,000 from the AARP allowed Rye Brook Senior Center staff to not just beautify the building’s patio adjacent to the main hall but turn it into a space that helps the residents served by the facility.
Over the summer, they brought in the gift of nourishment by building a new community giving garden.
Rye Brook Deputy Clerk and Senior Coordinator Liz Rotfeld does some maintenance on the plants.By Sarah Wolpoff
“We found a lot of people were coming to the truck on Tuesdays,” said Deputy Village Clerk and Senior Coordinator Liz Rotfeld, referring to regular visits from the mobile pantry run by Meals on Main Street, a Port Chester-based nonprofit that addresses food insecurity.
“It’s a handicap accessible space; you can get a wheelchair all around here. That was one of the things that I think made the grant so attractive, that and the food insecurity,” she said. “It’s really nice that the truck comes once a week. But you know, you go to the grocery store, and everything is so expensive. I thought this would be a nice way to give them fresh things and would give them something to do together that also helps others.”
The patio area, Rotfeld explained, was underutilized. Though there had been a few picnic tables set up, it was rarely taken advantage of because the bench style seating wasn’t accessible.
Now, 10 garden beds fill the area—seven lined against the freshly painted fencing and three set spaciously in the middle between new sets of patio furniture. “On a nice day now, they’ll come out here and relax,” she said. “It’s much better than it used to be.”
The grant paid for everything, Rotfeld said. She was able to get a deal on metal Vego garden beds, which are reputable for being long-lasting and having sizing flexibility—she even has a few more that they plan to build next season. She ordered tall beds so seniors don’t have to bend over to tend to the plants.
“I like having the garden here,” said Gloria Mangiamele, a 93-year-old who lives in an Avon Circle condominium. “You get the fresh stuff.”
Karen Mercera, a neighbor of the Rye Brook Senior Center, and her son Connor plant vegetables together in one of the new garden beds. Karen organized a giveback day in June that saw dozens of Morgan Stanley employees volunteering to create the new space.Courtesy of Liz Rotfeld
Though Mangiamele used to maintain her own garden, there is no yard in her current living situation. “So, this is very handy,” she said.
She touted Rotfeld for securing the funding for the community giving garden and dedicating herself toward the maintenance. “Liz puts in her heart, soul and a lot of hours,” Mangiamele smiled.
In its inaugural year, the garden is still very much a work in progress.
“We have a lot to learn,” Rotfeld laughed.
Though she had initially hoped the senior center would be able to host a fall giveaway for residents, the harvest has not been fruitful enough to make an organized event happen.
During a brief tour, she chuckled about their misjudgments as several bees, doing their pollenating work, politely ignored her hands grazing through the fruits and veggies. A bed full of Brussels sprouts never took, nor did the plot dedicated to cucumbers.
“We planted a ton of zucchini, and I only got one,” she exclaimed. “My cucumbers at home did really well…but I grew a different type of cucumber. They’re smaller and skinnier. So next year, I think we’ll bring those in.”
The tomatoes, carrots and peppers did much better. And the eggplants, Rotfeld said, thrived the most. “No one seems to really want those,” she admitted. “But look how gorgeous they are.” When the vegetables become ready, after slowly ripening at their own pace, Rotfeld has been giving them away individually to seniors on the premises.
Time, this season, was not on their side.
On a hot day in June, around two dozen volunteers from Morgan Stanley and the Village of Rye Brook take an afternoon to assemble beds for the senior center’s new community giving garden.Courtesy of Liz Rotfeld
The AARP grant funding didn’t come through until late-May, and most vegetables in the Westchester area should be planted early in the month if not April. Once funding was secured, the pressure was on to work fast, but they could only do so much for the season.
“My friend Karen Mercera, she lives across the street from the center and works for Morgan Stanley. She called me and said she needed ideas, because she had 20 employees who needed to do something for a giveback day. And we somehow timed it right, because I needed so much help assembling everything,” she said. “It was like the hottest day in June, and everyone was so cheerful and nice and happy. It was so nice.”
Rotfeld plans to sow the seeds to reap more benefits over the next few years. And she doesn’t have to do it alone.
There are plenty around looking to help, including, and notably, the seniors—particularly those with a lifetime of gardening experience, who she said have already been offering plenty of tips on how to tie certain plants or treat yellowing leaves.
Next year, she wants to add more garden beds to the space and dedicate an area for herbs that will grow back year after year. They’ll try different plants, and she plans to get input from the seniors about it. “We have seniors that are homebound, so it’s our hope to sort of find out things that they like,” she said. “Then, when we deliver lunches to them, we can maybe give them a fresh tomato or something they like to make their day.”
“It’s slow going, but my hope is every year it’ll get bigger and bigger,” Rotfeld said. “We’re really excited about it.”
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