Christmas ornament helps fund food ministry
It was a sunny day in Port St Joe Monday, Feb. 26. What made it extra sunny was a donation to the Two Fish Food Market from the Port St. Joe Garden Club.
“Every Christmas, the garden club produces a signature ornament to be sold at the annual Christmas in the Garden,” said Garden Club president Leesa Haire. “This year, the sale of the ornaments, coupled with a budget inclusion, provided $2,035 for Two Fish. We are proud of the work of Two Fish and are happy we can help.”
Accepting the check was Pastor Dave Barkalow of the First United Methodist Church of Port St Joe. He offered thanks to the garden club and said, “We believe we are planted here for a reason and this will help us bloom.”
Two Fish Food Market is a ministry of First United Methodist Church with the goal of dealing with food insecurity faced by so many neighbors in Gulf County. The food pantry is at 212 Williams Avenue across from the St. Joe Ace Hardware Store.
It is open for shopping from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. ET on Saturdays and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The freezers are stocked and the shelves are filled.
Two Fish Coordinator Vicky Abrams said donations like this “are so important due to our significant growth and need. While 4,418 individuals were served in 2022, 6,794 individuals were served in 2023.”
The Port St. Joe Garden Club was founded in 1948 exclusively for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c )(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The object of the club is to foster and encourage horticulture and conservation of soil and natural resources as well as to participate in community and civic projects. As such, supporting Two Fish Market qualifies as a community outreach that supports citizens of Gulf County in a meaningful way.
The home of the Port St. Joe Garden Club, built in 1925, is listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s List of Historical Places. It is a charming venue for family reunions, showers, and receptions. Please contact rental coordinator Lanann Tuttle at 404-932-0604 for details regarding reservations. For more information about the Port St. Joe Garden Club, please visit its Facebook page.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.