ORONO – A small community garden off Pine Street in Orono is growing more than just the broccoli, beets, lettuce, turnips, onions and other vegetables that a group of volunteers distributes Tuesday evenings to about 55 nearby residents.

It also is developing a sense of community and sharing a message about sustainability, says John Jemison, the UMaine Cooperative Extension water quality and soil scientist who oversees the garden project.

For the last five years, Jemison, who does outreach education in water quality and sustainable agriculture, and 20 to 30 volunteers have distributed tons of fresh vegetables to residents of Orono’s Hasbrouck Court and Longfellow Heights apartments.

This year, the mission has been aided by the donation of 200 reusable tote bags from Hannaford supermarkets. In addition, the Orono Community Garden has economized on its use of garden space and given recipients of the produce an active role in the gardening process. The volunteers gave out 48 five-gallon buckets of soil with a tomato plant in each one.

“People love them,” he says. “They love watching things grow.”

The food stock is augmented by Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners’ Plant a Row program, some surplus produce from the Black Bear Food Guild, and from some of the Rogers Farm research trials in Stillwater.

Recipients of the fresh, mostly organic vegetables are primarily those living on limited incomes or those with physical challenges that make it hard for them to get out on a daily basis. People appreciate the program and the effort, Jemison says.

“I had a lady tell me last summer that she lost 20 pounds because she was eating better than she would have otherwise,” he says.

For Jemison, who says he was profoundly impressed by the sense of community and self-sufficiency he experienced in 2003 when he spent a year on sabbatical in a small Italian village, getting to know people in the community is as much reward as the benefits of providing food for people who cannot grow it themselves.

“To me, there is value in growing food for the local food banks, but this seems more rewarding because we get to know people in our community,” he says. “It’s very small but it’s a start toward an agriculture supported community.”

For more information about the Orono Community Garden, Jemison can be reached at 581-3241.