“When it's harvest time, they come about three times a week,” said Cheri Prince, Diamond Ridge pantry coordinator in mid-October. “In the beginning they bring us radishes and green beans. Right now, it’s butternut and pumpkin.”

The pantry also has received cabbage, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, turnips, beets, carrots, green onions, scallops, tomatillos, cherry tomatoes and cucamelons, a hit with many patrons.

“We've gone through everything every single day on the same day. The people have been so grateful for it,” she said adding the pantry serves 2,700 people in September.

As of October, nearly 3,300 volunteers had helped this year at Sandy Utah Crops Farm. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Less than one-half mile from the school, the Sandy Utah Crops Farm sits just north of White City’s Big Bear Park. Once a 3-acre plot once owned by Charles Alma Jones, who donated to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1979 to teach neighbors sustainable gardening. 

Once one of several church farms between Lindon and Magna, Sandy Utah Crops Farm is now the only one remaining, said Sister (Betty) Shaw and her husband, Elder (Tim) Shaw, who have directed the farm for two years. 

Everyone at the farm is a volunteer, and the produce supports Diamond Ridge, the church’s Sandy Bishop Storehouse and the Utah Food Bank.

“We’ve also been able to help senior centers and Meals on Wheels with carrots, cabbage, green onions and tomatoes. I don't care who gets it if they need it; do not show me any ID or where you're from or who you are. If you're hungry and you need food, take some. That's what warms my heart. That's what makes me happy,” Shaw said.

By early October, the farm produced nearly 50,000 pounds of food this year.

“It's absolutely amazing our three-and-one-half acres can do that,” she said. “It has been a blessing.”

Through September, 3,294 volunteers contributed more than 7,000 hours of service.

“Our volunteers have been church members, school groups, youth groups, a stake primary and we've even had a family reunion come with 35 people,” Shaw said. “We have lots of young service missionaries, who just flourish here.”

Children have tasted their first fresh carrots, teens have put down their phones to sing and laugh while they work and families with special-needs kids enjoy the sunshine together.

“I see miracles every time I'm here; it's people making connections with each other and with other people,” she said. “It's not just the value of the produce; it's the value of the relationships people have here.”

Volunteer participation has grown since 2000 when former directors Billie Atchley and his wife Barbara led the farm.

“Besides missionary time on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, we would spend another 40 hours per week here; there were about four farms operating at the time and we were the smallest,” he said. “We’ve had lots of good times; people come here and they work together and create lasting friendships.

Each day, volunteers gather at 7:30 a.m. for prayer and assignments.

“We figure out what the farm assignments are, what we're harvesting or what we're planting,“ she said. “We have maps of the crops with the plants’ names and pictures, then we take them off the board when we pull the plants. We follow food safety regulations; we rotate the crops every year so we track where they are planted this year to ensure we don’t use the same boxes or fields next year to avoid stunted plants.”

The farm uses 50-foot and 80-foot grow boxes as well as the field; crops are carefully tracked — 80 feet of corn, 25 of watermelon, 25 of cantaloupe, 15 of spaghetti squash, 15 of butternut, 20 of pumpkin, and more. A journal records each year’s crops, including this year’s new tomato varieties: Arkansas Traveler, Jet Star and Sunrise Sauce.

Betty Shaw, one of the directors of Sandy Utah Crops Farm, is grateful to be able to share fresh produce with the community. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

“It's been fun to see how it evolves with different people doing different things,” she said. “Originally, they wanted to teach people in the neighborhood about grow boxes, which were new at the time. They do have advantages. The summer squashes grow well in the boxes.” 

She points out the farm is watered through Sandy’s irrigation project, with flood pipes opened for watering. A local beekeeper keeps hives on-site to help with pollination, and the soil and water are tested regularly.

Shaw sounds like a farm girl; she laughs at the idea.

“We had wanted to go on a mission when Tim retired in June, so we were prepared wherever the Lord needed us. But then the state presidency member called us in and said, ‘We want to call you on a mission. We want you to be the assistant directors at the farm.’ My husband just nearly jumped out of his skin because he's a farm boy, but I'm a city girl. I was raised in San Diego; I know the beach. My dad had a little garden, but I don't even remember what he grew and we didn't really help him. But I was happy to do this because I still get to see my grandkids,” she said of their August 2023 calling.

Shaw and others have since completed the Utah State University Extension Service’s Master Gardener course, which requires 40 hours of coursework and 15 hours of service, which can be performed at the farm. She keeps things organized, directing volunteers to yellow bins for the Utah Food Bank and white bins for the storehouse.

“That's 40 pounds of grapes. All we ask is that we weigh them before they take them, because we want to keep track of what we grow,” she said.

The friendships cultivated at the farm mean as much as the crops. Shaw remains close with Raya, Jones’ 95-year-old widow, who toured the farm last year.

“She was seeing how things were growing and how the farm has grown,” Shaw said.

Greenhouse manager Sister (Lisa) McDermott calls the farm a “family.”

“Everyone is committed to see all the produce go out and help people,” she said. “When we go to Diamond Ridge, we see people waiting in the parking lot and then they just flood in. The volunteers are working side by side, out in the sun, producing and seeing the fruits of their labor, planting then weeding and tending, and then harvesting side by side.”

For McDermott, the farm also has been part of her recovery from illness.

“This is my safe harbor, where I come and I can be still. These guys have just been my cheerleaders. Even when I feel like crap, when they watch over me, it has been the best therapy. There are times when I come and sit in the greenhouse and have that quiet time, there is just something healing about being here. I've connected with other women who are in the same boat, and we'll hug each other and cry in the fields. I'm finding my way, bouncing back and seeing amazing miracles,” she said.

As the season ends, volunteers prepare the soil for spring and clean tools for winter, even as they harvest pumpkins, gourds and sunflowers. Shaw and others are planning for the spring planting.

“At the end of the season, we will wash everything and sanitize it and put mint seed oil on the handles and get everything ready for winter. At the beginning of the year we will wash and sanitize again,” Shaw said, then laughed. “This city girl has learned a lot, but it’s really about people and making connections. It’s relaxing and we all love what we do; we love giving this food to people who need it.”