By Toby Ehrlich
The Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living in Somerset, NJ has something really special growing in the backyard. We have a beautiful Victory Garden. Anna Simmons, our Executive Director, conceived the idea 3 years ago and it’s still growing. Reminiscent of the World War II Victory Gardens, ours grows herbs and vegetables then the vegetables are used in the food that is prepared for our residents.
What’s the history of the Victory Garden? During World War I and World War II, the United States government asked its citizens to plant gardens in order to support the war effort. Millions of people planted gardens. In 1943, Americans planted over 20 million Victory Gardens, and the harvest accounted for nearly a third of all the vegetables consumed in the country that year. Emphasis was placed on making gardening a family or community effort — not drudgery, but a pastime, and a national duty. This information was taken from the website Revive the Victory Garden http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/.
Residents will have the opportunity to not only work on the garden but to eat the fresh vegetables. Our new Chief Bobby Maffei is planning many recipes to include our fresh vegetables. In addition to this our Memory Care Neighborhood Jaffa Gate has an indoor garden where they are growing herbs which we can also add to our food. For more information about The Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence and our Victory Garden contact us at 732-568-1155 or [email protected].

