Tobin is an 11-year-old resident of Port Washington and a year-round “regular” participant in programs at the Science Museum of Long Island. When Tobin learned that children in his own hometown sometimes went to bed hungry, he was at first astounded, but was then, almost simultaneously, motivated to do something about it, declaring, “I want to open up my garden for anyone who needs food to take whatever they want!”
“Tobin is a young man of few words,” his mother said, as she related the story, “but anyone present could have heard the wheels spinning in his head that day. Tobin knew he could do something for families in need, and believed that others might be persuaded to join him in that effort, too.”
Because Tobin’s backyard vegetable garden only produced a small crop, he knew he needed more land to farm. So, after allowing his plan to percolate for a few days, Tobin approached his educator and mentor Dan Steiger, program coordinator at the Science Museum of Long Island, to request permission to create an “educational garden” on the museum’s grounds. In that garden “classroom,” Tobin wanted to grow food for those in need and also teach other kids how to create and maintain gardens in their own backyards, growing fruits and vegetables for their own families and others, as well.
“After discussing Tobin’s idea with our chief administrator and teachers (most of whom know Tobin well), we agreed to let him run with it,” Steiger said.
“This was not to be a community plot or master gardener’s showpiece, but rather a student-developed/student-maintained effort to address a genuine, local basic need—a need for food to feed growing children,” said Cara O’Donnell, chief administrator at the museum. “Our teachers had confidence in Tobin; they recognized in him his determination to follow through with his plan.”
The plan has been effective all season: Tobin delivers vegetables to the director of the Social Ministry at Our Lady of Fatima Parish (OLF) in Manorhaven, Sr. Kathy Somerville, OP, who serves as an intermediary between Tobin and the families who receive the vegetables. Sr. Kathy shared with Tobin and his mother that OLF’s food pantry provides food to more than 85 families every week. After making a delivery of tomatoes to the food pantry one afternoon, it occurred to Tobin that the perfectly ripe vegetables he had harvested that very morning would be part of a child’s dinner that same evening.
The growing season is not yet over, and Tobin’s work continues. He leads by quiet example, showing interested visitors to his Science Museum garden how they, too, can help neighbors in need. Tobin’s garden isn’t a part of any “Big Ag” machine, but his heart, without a doubt, is far larger.
