The O’Fallon Garden Club donated 5,300 pounds of fresh produce to the Metro East town’s local food pantry last year — earning the group its second consecutive national award for the most fruit and veggies given to a food bank.

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St. Louis-based nonprofit National Garden Club recently bestowed the per capita award to the O’Fallon club. The honor showcases the group’s commitment to providing fresh and nutritious food to the community to alleviate hunger, organizers said.

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“When you get a group of like-minded volunteers together that want to share their love of gardening — and they want to help out the community too — it’s amazing what you can do,” said Sarah Lambaria, president of the garden club.

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The Metro East garden had a “banner year” in 2023, volunteers said. A new irrigation system, installed by club Treasurer Bob Winkler, was a big help, they added.