Not only do the gardens give volunteers a chance to green their thumbs and gab with friends, the vegetables harvested from JCC go to feed the hungry.

"Working in the sunshine, getting dirt under your nails and helping the community - that's why I come out," Elaine Horne of Clayton said last week as she planted lettuce in newly turned soil.

Horne is one of many who trek to JCC on Thursdays to help arboretum director Lin Frye tend fruits and vegetables for the Plant a Row for the Hungry program. Last year, the arboretum produced 800 pounds of fresh food for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

Frye's goal is to plant even more rows in the years ahead. "We have about 12 different fruit and berry trees, and we want to increase that to about 45," she said.

Frye can reach that goal if the arboretum wins an online contest. The company Edy's Fruit Bars is giving away orchards through a program it calls "Communities Take Root." Starting April 15, voters can log onto CommunitiesTakeRoot.com to cast their ballot for JCC or any of 130 groups vying for a fruit orchard. The top 20 vote-getters will win a public orchard paid for by Edy's Fruit Bars. The company will announce five winners every month through August.

"All fruit would continue to be donated to the hungry," Frye said. "And by maintaining [the orchard], we would expand our gardening lessons to volunteers."

That's what Clayton resident Rose Marie Johnson is looking forward to. "With the price of produce nowadays, we're not just helping the community, we're learning to grow for ourselves too," Johnson said

After Johnson, Horne and about 20 others finished planting lettuce, mustard greens, kale and other vegetables in the rich Johnston County soil, they surveyed their crops and reflected on their work as the spring sun warmed their backs.

"With the fun I'm having, I don't know who benefits more: me or those who get the produce," Horne said. "This work truly gives you a sense of pride."

The arboretum will hold its annual Plant Sale-A-Bration this Saturday, April 16, on its grounds on East Market Street and College Road. Annual and perennial flowers, herbs, trees, shrubs and vegetables will be on sale. The fundraiser will also feature music, crafts and food. Proceeds will go toward expanding the arboretum gardens.