Volunteers Make "Secret Garden" Grow For Neighbors In Need
It's beautiful! A family's donation of land allows a Pittsburgh non-profit to provide healthy, fresh, organic produce to people who come to their food pantry.
This story is part of a bi-weekly series that celebrates people who are reaching across a divide to "build bridges" with those different from themselves. The Sparkt Bridges series is made possible with the support of UPMC.
In the quiet community of Bellevue on the edge of the city of Pittsburgh, you'll find a surprise: a large garden bursting at the seams with vegetable plants, fruit trees, and flowers run riot.
The garden has its own apiary, where bee keepers raise bees to pollinate the plants.
Root vegetables like turnips continue to allow NHCO to provide fresh produce to clients into late fall.
The story of the garden itself is also a surprise, a saga dating back generations, stretching all the way back to Italy.

Over the last 9 years, NHCO has harvested over 40,000 pounds of fresh produce from the Rosalinda Sauro Sirianni garden, serving over 1,000 families in need every year.
Garden Coordinator Alyssa Crawford (far R) and her crew of volunteers keep the garden growing.
The Sparkt Bridges Project is produced with the generous support of UPMC. Life Changing Medicine.