Temple Shalom Celebrates Justice Garden Opening

Temple Shalom dedicated its new Justice Garden on Dec. 10.

The goal: to help eliminate food insecurity in Dallas.

“We are standing together in shared vision and share values, and that is the glue that holds us together,” Temple Shalom Garden Committee co-chair Gretchen Reynolds said.

The garden boasts 56 beds ready for planting thanks to support from the Union for Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center’s Kraus Initiative for Immigration and Refugee Justice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the People’s Garden Initiative.

The dedication celebrates the Temple Shalom Justice Garden and the positive change in the community in four key areas: education, ecology, wellness, and food justice.

The garden will “change the landscape around us and create positive change in love, kindness, and dignity,” said Reynolds, who worked with co-chairs Karen Stock and Stuart Marcus and their team of volunteer supported by Senior Rabbi Andrew Paley and director of lifelong learning Deborah Niederman.

A crowd of 200 community members gathered for the grand opening, including members from U.S. Rep. Colin Allred’s office, the Dallas City Council, and clergy from the Episcopal Church of Transfiguration, as well as representatives from the North Texas Food Bank and Temple Emanu-El’s Garden.