United Methodist Church Pumpkin Patch Nets Thousands

Final numbers are in for the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay's annual pumpkin patch sale: The church raised over $13,000 this year.

"The pumpkins are grown by farmers who lease land from the Navajo Nation in New Mexico," said Melissa Ugland, the volunteer in charge of the event this year. "We pay them a percent of our sales."

According to Ugland, the profits will go to:

• A church service project called Appalachia Service Project (ASP) which brings youth from the church and other faith communities down to Appalachia to renovate and repair homes;
• Feed My Starving Children, an international organization that provides nutritious meals to hungry kids all over the world (the church raises money for the meals it packs and also packs them all); 
• Grates for cooking ovens in Guatemala, which help reduce respiratory illnesses there; and 
• Local meal programs that the church supports here in Milwaukee.

At the annual pumpkin patch, which is now over, people could buy pumpkins and gourds for their yards and snap photos at a photo spot.

The church is located at 819 E Silver Spring Dr.