Grilled Pizza and Fruit Trees

Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative Saratoga Street Fruit Tree Orchard (say that 10 times fast!)

Yesterday afternoon, I drove to the Saratoga Street Fruit Tree Orchard to help out Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative as they opened the orchard for neighborhood kids to paint their own flower pots, decorate a banner and design their own grilled pizza creations. As you can see the orchard has a variety of trees that will eventually grow grapefruits, lemons, figs, kumquats and other fruits as a source of food while also establishing community in the neighborhood.

Alex helps the kids makes delicious grilled pizza...also notice the decorated flower pots that have seeds planted in them!

I really enjoyed helping make pizzas and hanging out in the garden. I truly love spending time with and getting to know the people of this great city. I was surprised to see how many kids put jalapenos on their pizza - I was not that adventurous at their age! We even got a few kids to try mushrooms (they were dubbed disgusting but at least they tried them!) We also had peppers, onions, garlic, basil, tomatoes and of course cheese! One of the girls, Lamyra, mentioned she had "never in her whole life made her own pizza", to be a part of that excitement was awesome.

The Saratoga Fruit Tree Orchard's new banner! 

How awesome does this banner look? The kids really worked hard and enjoyed painting trees, flowers, suns and of course their names. Jericho Road is going to hang up the banner on one of the walls to be enjoyed by the entire community. What a great day at the orchard.

I spend my days in the Project Homecoming Village, helping to recruit and coordinate volunteers to make a difference in a New Orleans neighborhood. Sometimes I feel disconnected from that work because I am behind the scenes. I don't have a hammer in my hand or paint in my hair. It was nice to switch things up and help a community appreciate their garden while playing with kids for a few hours - physically being there and seeing the joy on their faces at the flower pot they painted or the pizza they created. Although it was somewhat hectic keeping an eye on 35+ kids, it was a great day at the orchard and I can't wait to have another opportunity like this.

Lesson from the Journey: Grilled pizza. Enough said.