CEDAR FALLS -- It's a half-hour before the start of services Sunday, but the parking lot of the local Unitarian church is already filling up.

Members emerge from their cars dressed ready to work -- sporting bandanas, fleece jackets and rubber clogs. As the minutes tick by, more and more parishioners bypass the sanctuary's front door, instead joining the weekly harvest in the church's organic vegetable garden.

"I think it's given us a sense of community," said Danny Lee, as he plucked green beans from a vine. "People come together to care for the produce and just to look and see what's growing. It gets people more active and connected to the church."

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Black Hawk County, based in Cedar Falls, started tending veggies, herbs and a few flowers outside their sanctuary in 2006. Every Sunday, a handful of congregants harvest the week's bounty. After church, other members select fresh goodies in exchange for a free-will donation to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. The program raised 560 last year.

"When we started, we really didn't know quite what to expect," said Julie Fischer, who spearheads the garden project. "But our members have really embraced the garden. There's a desire for local foods, and we offer that."

The initiative, which is part of the church's green sanctuary program, has also gained support because of its connection to community giving. For each dollar donated, the food shelf is able to supply 13 worth of consumables for needy Cedar Valley residents.

"People feel good knowing their donations are helping others," Fisher said.

The church's 2008 crop, planted in late April, is just starting to reach its peak. On Sunday, members picked more than 20 varieties of vegetables and herbs from the garden. Sturdy leeks, sun-kissed red tomatoes and fragrant springs of lemon basil attracted buyers to the produce table following the service.

Jessica Lieb, a junior at the University of Northern Iowa, selected a handful of fresh greens before dropping a few dollars into the donation box.

"When I came back to school I was so excited to see the garden and all the produce," said the music education student. "I love having it here."

Lieb hopes to join the harvest crew during future Sunday picking sessions.

"I think it connects you to the earth and to the church," she said. "You see the power of nature up close."

In addition to the vegetables and herbs grown on site, a handful of church members donate produce from their own backyards to the weekly market. By the end of July, the group had already raised 277 for the food bank. Organizers expect the patch to yield produce through September and hope the extended growing season will bring in even more contributions.

Garden guru Fischer plans to get more members involved in caring for the church's plants this spring.

"It's religious education in the fact that it's environmental education," she said. "For our children, especially, there's a charm in watching them learn about the plants and try new things ï½ They don't even realize they're learning how to be a good steward of the earth."

Contact Mary Stegmeir at (319) 291-1482 or mary.stegmeir@wcfcourier.com.