The 12 community garden plots tilled in the large lawn at Middlebury Church of the Brethren represent the culmination of a dream by member Mark Short.

A total of 20 families are using the 10-by-30-foot plots to grow food this summer at the church, 507 W. Bristol Ave. The project has been a group effort by church members and community residents.

“We gave notice at the church that we were having gardening plots, and within two weeks we had 15 families involved,” Short said. “But members of the community were begging for a spot, so some community families are also participating.”

The Middlebury community will also be benefiting from the gardens, since Short said he is encouraging participants to “plant a row for poverty.” Surplus food from the gardens will be set out for the elderly and others in the church, and also will be given to food pantries in the community.

Community cooking and food preservation classes are being planned later this year at the church’s kitchen. Participants will make strawberry jam and learn about canning fresh produce.

Cooperation is part of the gardening endeavor. Short said members of the church grounds committee will help irrigate the gardens, but added that the plots also reduce the amount of grass that needs to be mowed.

He said participants talked about the possibility of some gardens being overrun by weeds and negatively impacting other plots.

“But there are enough of us that, if a plot gets out of control, by working together we can get it back into shape,” he said.