Three vibrant vegetable gardens can be spotted at Mohawk Global’s Headquarters in Syracuse, NY. The tomato, bean, and cucumber plants are part of the Mohawk Global Giveback (MGG) initiative to enrich our communities by providing access to sustainable sources of fresh produce.
This summer’s harvest will be donated to the Samaritan Center, an organization in downtown Syracuse committed to feeding those who struggle with access to a grocery store.
“So many of the guests we serve have very little access to affordable fresh vegetables. The produce lovingly grown by the amazing folks at Mohawk Global will not only provide an invaluable nutritional resource for the individuals and families that come to us for assistance, but also a concrete reminder that our guests are not alone—that there is a community by their side trying to make the load lighter,” said Mary Beth Frey, Director at the Samaritan Center.
This May, our team built and planted the three gardens by hand, totaling more than 850 square feet.
“When considering site selection for our raised-bed gardens, we opted for maximum sun. We chose three grass islands in our parking lot that already had irrigation, and because they are long and narrow, we opted to plant crops that could take advantage of vertical structures to produce maximum yield on a small footprint. We supplied cages for tomatoes, built some fencing for cucumbers to climb, and used eight-foot poles for our pole beans,” explained Rich Roche, Senior Vice President at Mohawk Global.
The entire team takes responsibility for watering, weeding, and harvesting daily. Our people are encouraged to take time out of their working hours to tend to the gardens. Some even enjoy coming by on their own time with their family.
“I enjoy volunteering with my kids to tend to the Mohawk Garden. It’s such a great opportunity to show them what we can do as individuals to give back to our community. They enjoy seeing how vegetables are grown and the hard work that goes into it. They are so happy to know that they were helping someone in need,” said Juan Vasquez, Import Transportation Supervisor at Mohawk Global.
This year’s harvest will be hand delivered to the Samaritan center along with recipe cards to inspire easy and healthy meal choices for those receiving the produce. “We anticipate harvesting hundreds of pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, and pole beans before the end of summer,” stated Rich Roche.
We are excited to expand our crop in the coming years with additional garden beds featuring a variety of vegetables. With a vision beyond vegetables, we plan to plant fruit bearing bushes and trees in our community parks and playgrounds for the people in those areas to freely take as needed.
Headquarters isn’t the only location in on the action. Many of our offices are volunteering at local community gardens and food pantries across the country.
“At the Troy Area United Ministries (TAUM)’s community center and soup kitchen, in Albany, NY, we turned an empty, unused lot into a thriving garden. Since then, we’ve been visiting every few weeks this summer to weed, harvest, and maintain the garden. TAUM is using this fresh produce to prepare meals for those in need, providing healthy, seasonal goodness to the local community. It feels great to not only be part of an organization that genuinely prioritizes having their employees participate in volunteerism, but to also see the fruits—and vegetables—of our labor making a difference,” stated Eliza Patterson, Senior Import Transportation Coordinator at Mohawk Global.
“There are not enough words to express the difference this will make in the lives of so many,” said Mary Beth Frey. We are beyond excited at the progress our people have made this summer. Stay tuned, as we share more on what our other offices are digging into this year.