Asbury United Methodist Church was recently awarded a grant to expand one of its ministries that provides food to those in need.

The church is expanding Ruby’s Garden, a community garden ministry started almost three years ago, thanks to a $10,000 Duke Endowment grant, according to Jim Reed, pastor at Asbury UMC.

The money will be used to expand the garden’s infrastructure through the removal of two old houses on the land, as well as clearing the land to accommodate the addition of raised-bed gardens. The cost of doing so is estimated at $8,000. However, thanks to an offer to assist with the project, Bunyan Volunteer Fire Department plans to host controlled burns of the structures, offsetting the initial estimated cost of the project, Reed said.

“We established a plan to do the burn whenever they get a chance,” Reed said. “We’re going to have a special Sunday where we recognize and thank them for their service to our community.”

After the land is cleared, the money remaining from the grant will go toward tapping into county water and setting up raised-bed gardens. The in-ground garden, with crops such as green beans, squash, okra, sweet potatoes and others will remain, according to Reed.

The garden is set up on a piece of property adjacent to the church and has produced about 1,000 pounds of food over the past two growing seasons, Reed said. The garden was set up as a ministry in honor of Ruby Pippin, a lifelong member who passed away in March 2014 and was an avid gardener well into her nineties. The church purchased the piece of land especially for the project, which was a vision of church member Margaret Hudson.

“(The food) all goes to the community through Eagle’s Wings and the homeless shelter,” Reed said. “Then anyone else we know that is in need, we distribute the food out. It’s all given away. In the first two years, it’s done a lot.”

Ann-Marie Montague, director of Eagle’s Wings food pantry, said Ruby’s Garden has been a wonderful resource of fresh produce and is much appreciated.

“Besides just providing food for people, we want to encourage them to eat healthy and nutritious food and be aware of nutrition value in what they’re eating,” Montague said. “We talk about eating fresh fruits and vegetables. You can’t get any fresher than direct from the garden. It’s a great benefit and we appreciate it. The clients enjoy having those options.”

Reed said the church invites the community to participate in the garden to grow food for themselves and hopes to set up some kind of buy-in system to make that possible.

“We don’t know exactly what the buy-in is going to be for the garden,” Reed said. “Perhaps they can tithe 10 percent of what they raise and give it away to those in need. That’s one thing we’re looking at.”

Other ideas in the works are to establish a prayer labyrinth, a garden maze, of sorts, that serves as a metaphorical journey to the heart of God.

“It’s like a spiritual journey,” Reed said. “(The idea) was developed for those who couldn’t make the pilgrimage to holy places. It takes you into the middle, as if you’re walking to the heart of God and getting closer to Him when you’re walking in. And as you come out, you pray for the world and think about where it takes you as a light unto the world. We want that spiritual aspect to be part of it, as well as the physical aspect. We’re nurturing the body as well as the soul. That’s kind of our goal. Our mission is disciples of Jesus Christ making disciples. That’s what we’re doing through the garden — entering a deeper walk with God through an act of hospitality.”