A garden is growing at the Samuel Smith Farmstead in East Lyme, planted by volunteers who hope to give food to those who need it.

The Friends of the Samuel Smith House have teamed up with the Rotary Club of Niantic to help the club meet its goal of providing food for the needy, said Marvin Schutt, the president of the Friends group.

The community garden near the historic Samuel Smith Farmhouse will grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, string beans, summer squash, butternut squash, collard greens, cucumbers and beets. A sign next to the garden states: “Producing Hope: Feeding the Food Insecure.”

The garden has about 45 plant beds, with nine for the public and the remainder to grow food that will be donated.

Niantic Rotary Club President Deb Fountain said the club decided a couple of years ago that it would try to create opportunities for organizations to grow food for the food insecure.

The club would partner with organizations to help them set up gardens, with the club serving as a “support system” to overcome any obstacles standing in the way of creating a garden, she explained.

She said the garden at the Samuel Smith Farmstead produced, in its first year in 2015, more than 700 pounds of food that was donated to Gemma E. Moran United Way/Labor Food Center in New London.

She said she expects the yield this year will be higher, since they are starting earlier in the season and master gardeners have analyzed soil samples from the garden.

Under the partnership at the Samuel Smith Farmstead, the Friends of the Samuel Smith House provided the land, and Arthur Carlson and Bob Ramsay, members of the Friends group, built the garden. Rotary Club members planted the garden and provided the funding. The club will maintain the garden under garden manager Joe Fulton.

Volunteers planted the vegetables during Connecticut Open House Day on June 11, a day which included tours of the historic home, bee displays, and performances by the band 5 Bean Row, with lead musician, Butch Foster.

The farmhouse was built in three stages: the first in the second half of the 17th century, the second around 1735, and the third in 1812.

“All that we do is for the public education and appreciation of history and to educate young people,” said Schutt.

Fountain said the garden at the Samuel Smith Farmstead serves as the “pilot program” for the Rotary Club’s initiative. The club hopes to partner with additional organizations to create community gardens and raise awareness about feeding the food insecure.

She said the volunteers have “great energy” every time they are at the garden, because they are trying to grow produce for the food insecure.

“There’s such great energy, because we want so much from this garden,” she said.

k.drelich@theday.com