Robbinsdale Resident Grows Kindness with Free Produce
Rebecca Korich is creating beauty with her garden. Her Robbinsdale neighbors are reaping the benefits.
“It is my sanctuary during my summers as a teacher,” Korich said of her garden on Orchard Avenue.
Korich teaches special education in District 287. Her job as a teacher translates to her time in the garden.
“I love watching the growth and the change,” Korich said. “Nurturing things and seeing how they respond.”
Rebecca Korich waters plants in her backyard garden. Her yard is covered with plants of all kinds, including vegetables and a variety of flowers.
Korich spends hours in her garden each day with the help of her 7-year-old daughter, Cornelia.
“I know this one– she loves the butterflies,” Korich said.
Cornelia took us on a tour of the garden. She said she doesn’t like the vegetables, but she does love to harvest them.
Nearly every inch of the backyard is decorated with plants or blooming flowers. Cornelia said her favorites are petunias.
“We have lots of different colors,” she said.
Sowing Kindness
Amidst the beauty in their garden is charity.
As her garden grew, Korich noticed a surplus.
“COVID really did a number on the outdoor garden life, so we had some extra time,” Korich said. “It seemed intuitive– like common sense. If I have extra vegetables that we are not going to eat, to just give them to the neighbors.”
She started giving beyond her garden gate in Robbinsdale, a community she’s lived in for six years.
“It is just so close-knit. It feels like we have each other’s backs like a small town,” Korich said.
In their front yard, they share free produce on a little red stool. It includes anything from their garden, including peas, cucumber-melons, squash and zucchini.
Korich and her daughter, Cornelia, put vegetables in front of their house on Orchard avenue. Korich said she puts produce out nearly every day in the harvest months.
The surplus produce is free for anyone to take.
“It just seems like what I should do,” Korich said.
“There is a person who lives down there. They have two dogs” Cornelia said, pointing down Orchard avenue. “They mostly come by and get some veggies.”
Korich said she doesn’t know who exactly benefits from the stool, but sometimes she gets feedback.
“They’ll text me a picture of what I made, like ‘Thanks for the zucchini!'” Korich said.
You can find her produce stool on the 3700 block of Orchard Avenue North in Robbinsdale.
Korich said she stocks it nearly every day.
