News Releases

Neenah, Wis. – The saying goes that, “it takes a village,” and Miron Construction Co., Inc. has continued its long history of efforts to improve the community with its latest project at the St. Therese Community Garden. Partnering with Sustainable Fox Valley, a local non-profit that focuses on social, economic and environmental health, members of the Miron team have donated their time and skills to build a shed that will house a lending library of tools for public use.

“We are deeply grateful for the time and energy that the Miron volunteer construction crew put into the building of our beautiful St. Therese Community Garden shed, which is far and away better than anything the gardeners could have built or purchased on their own,” said Julie Filapek, program coordinator at Sustainable Fox Valley. “In any neighborhood—but particularly in a neighborhood that is being revitalized like the Historic Central Neighborhood of Appleton—it makes sense for neighbors to share large tools rather than each having to go out and purchase on their own. Having access to these tools will be a great help for those who want to grow their own food but don’t have access to the tools to do so.”

Though the St. Therese Parish school has been gone for many years, its yard has been converted into a community garden with 12,000 square feet of growing space serving 40 families from the neighborhood and parish. According to Sustainable Fox Valley’s calculations, by the end of this season the garden will have saved neighborhood families a combined total of $11,200 on their food bills. In addition, a 1,000-square-foot “Row for Joe” is delivering a total value of $1,120 in produce to the St. Joseph’s Food Pantry.

“The St. Therese Community Garden lending library shed is small in scale compared to our usual projects, but is a wonderful example of two of Miron’s core values: giving back to the community and advancing sustainable efforts,” said Chad Pingel, LEED AP-BD+C, O&M, sustainable services manager at Miron. “Our warehouse operations administrative and cost manager, Jim Stahl, and his team of several Miron carpenters have provided a resource for community gardeners to use for years to come.”