In January, Twin Lakes Food Bank welcomed registered guests to a garden workshop led by Garden Coordinator, Michelle Kwek, designed to be fun, inspiring, and focused on practical gardening knowledge for any size space. Guests learned about building healthy soil, starting a vegetable or herb garden at home, the benefits of home gardening, while enjoying live demonstrations, a guided garden tour, and time for questions and conversation.
Among the guests was Faith, a young single mother of two boys. Faith’s journey has not been easy. Her life has been marked by repeated abuse from multiple sources—experiences that no one should have to endure. Yet, day by day, she has been courageously working to pick herself up, provide for her sons, and create a safer, more hopeful future for her family. She arrived at the workshop not just to learn, but to breathe, to connect, and to find a moment of peace.
As Michelle shared her gardening knowledge, guiding guests through essential practices and answering thoughtful questions, something else unfolded alongside the learning. Michelle had “cultivated a beautiful environment for all of us women and children to enjoy the sunshine, the chirping and a garden.” The space itself felt intentional—welcoming, calm, and generous.
Fresh-baked bread, sweet oranges picked straight from the garden, and warm coffee invited conversation. Faith’s boys delighted in the experience, comfortable and at ease in a space designed with care. While Michelle shared practical tools for growing food, it was the unexpected woven into every detail—the hospitality, the kindness, the unhurried presence—that made Faith feel truly seen.
For someone who has spent much of her life in survival mode, being seen in this way mattered deeply.
That growth does not have to be rushed or forced. In the same way a garden thrives when tended with patience and care, healing can take root when people are met with dignity and compassion.
When Faith left the workshop with her boys, she carried more than new knowledge about gardening. She left feeling empowered and refreshed, lighter than when she arrived. She felt encouraged not only in her ability to grow fresh produce, but in her ability to continue building a better future for her children—one step, one season at a time.
Growth comes in many forms—and sometimes, the most meaningful seeds are planted through kindness, presence, and grace.