UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For Amanda Grube, quarantining at her family’s farm in Manheim, Pennsylvania, gave her a lot of time to think about past summers and how this year’s coronavirus would impact her community. To ease the strain a little for her friends and neighbors, Grube has started an informal community garden and a free library, all while completing a virtual internship and staying in touch with her sorority sisters.
“It all started with a little bit of boredom and a desire to do something useful with my time,” Grube said. “I was thinking about the things I'm missing the most from having to stay home, and the ideas grew from there.”
A rising senior majoring in plant sciences, agroecology option, in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Grube also has minors in plant pathology and agronomy as well as a certificate in agricultural stewardship and conservation. Fittingly, her first initiative was starting an informal, community-supported agriculture garden. Grube said her family has always had a “kitchen garden,” but felt that it was a good time to share considering the pandemic.
Grube took suggestions of vegetables her friends and family wanted and started the seeds along with purchasing some other plants. The first wave of vegetables — including lettuce, spinach, arugula and radishes — is almost ready to be harvested and delivered.
While doing some cleaning and organizing, Grube found several boxes of books from her and her sisters’ childhood, sparking some happy memories and another idea. "Besides going to the pool, going to the library with my mom or my grandma was one of the things we most looked forward to in the summer. I know how disappointed I would have been not to be able to check out new books every week,” she said.
Grube texted a group of high school friends to see if anyone else was interested in starting up a mini-library in their neighborhood. Several people were, and two mini-libraries have been built and stocked so far. Since Grube’s family farm is a bit farther out of town, her library will be set up at her church, which is situated in a larger neighborhood.