14 / matters magazine / summer 2026 food pantries, including those run by Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Joseph’s Church, as well as the Maplewood Health Department. When the gar den produces an especially generous amount of radishes, garlic and toma toes, Hannemann says extras have also gone to Newark food pantries. For Danielle Herring Dazulma, who joined the program with her young daughter in 2023, that ser vice component was essential. “It was very important to me that she see and actively participate in service for others,” Dazulma says. Her daughter already loved plants, worms and roly- polies, so the garden was an easy fit. “Our fearless leader, Ms. Monika, makes gardening fun for the kids and very informative for novice planters like myself,” Dazulma says. “It is tru ly a joyous occasion to see the garden transition from barren to lush with neighborly TLC. Knowing our hard work helps others is the best part – and tasting the tomatoes, too.” Some families have been part of the program for so long that the garden has become a kind of family timeline. Satoko Hoshino’s children began when they were 4 and 6. Now they are 19 and 21. “Throughout all those years, Monika’s guidance and leadership have continued to teach us about curiosity and growth, resilience, and the importance of community,” Hoshino says. “Not to mention the most delicious vegetables in New Jersey.” One longtime participant, now a college graduate, put the lesson this way: “The process of care, main tenance and delayed gratification has proved to be extremely useful throughout my life. Athletics, aca demics, relationships and career en vironments all have their parallels to the garden. In addition, the process of community cultivation has made me feel more rooted, no pun intended.” That is a lot for a garden to do. But it’s also exactly what gardens do. Jennifer Spiegler, whose family has participated for more than 16 years, describes the program as unusually welcoming. “Monika leads a program that allows for everyone to partici pate, whether with dirt, seeds, math skills, eating veggies or playing with a hose. Anyone who joins for one ses sion comes back for more,” she says. Ella Prager and Camille Dazulma with radish greens and spinach. Photo by Julia Maloof Verderosa. Jennifer Spiegler’s kids Ryan and Lilea Gaykowski (center) with Satoko Hoshino’s kids Aaron and Asa Glassman in their earlier days with the program. They have been participants for 15-plus years. BUY TICKETS TODAY! SOPACnow.org CYRILLE AIMÉE QUARTET SEPT 10 • 7:30PM ISAIA SHARKEY SEPT 12 • 7:30PM SUNNY JAIN’S WILD WILD WEST SEPT 18 • 7:30PM DARLINGSIDE SEPT 25 • 7:30PM T W O D E C A D E S A T T H E H E A R T O F A R T S & C O M M U N I T Y 167 Maplewood Avenue Maplewood Village 973-378-2222 ST. JAMES’S GATE APPAREL AND GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE stjamesgatemaplewood.com Authentic Irish Cuisine, Irish Coffee, Fine Wines and Irish Whiskey worthy of Celtic Kings Experience the best of Ireland’s Pub traditions • Family Friendly • Good Cheer “May your thirst for life never run dry” Watch the World Cup Here! Watch the World Cup Here! New Summer Menu. Lobster Rolls are back! Enjoy our Outdoor Street Cafe Through October 15 Your Choice! Dine with us indoors fireside or outdoors.
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