Imagine Peanuts’ comic strip characters Linus and Lucy going to their pumpkin patch to find vandals had destroyed their pumpkins before they even had a chance to grow big and orange.

That’s what recently happened to children in Thousand Oaks.

Pumpkins they had grown from seeds were smashed to bits.

Someone broke the lock on the gate at the Las Flores Garden in Thousand Oaks near the dog park. The vandals went inside and smashed pumpkins, tomatoes and other produce.

“It was so, so senseless. It’s food, for Pete’s sake,” garden president Kim Aguilar said.

The food feeds hungry families. Those who grow it use it at their family tables and share it with Manna, the Conejo Valley Food Bank, which gives it to underprivileged families who would otherwise not have fresh-grown vegetables.

“I just don’t understand. This is so hurtful. People spend hours and hours tending their gardens. Why would anyone want to destroy that?” Aguilar asked.

She said if it were kids who broke into the garden after it closed for the night, she hopes their parents will have a talk with them and explain why it was wrong.

She also hopes anyone who sees someone in the garden after dark will call the police department. The garden is open only during daylight hours.

Families, seniors and disabled people work in the garden growing produce that includes pumpkins, melons, corn, zucchinis, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peppers. Some doctors say that gardening can help rehabilitate patients, Aguilar said.

It’s mainly children who grow the pumpkins, and they’re mourning their losses. The families who come to Manna for food will also notice a difference.

“Manna is desperate for food from us. We bring them overflowing boxes,” Aguilar said.

“That’s going to really hurt us at Manna,” said director John Gorham. “That’s going to take fresh food away from people who need it,” he said.

The garden has been productive for 10 years. There are 116 plots, all of them in use, and a waiting list. Each plot is 10 feet by 20 feet. Water and tools are provided for a cost of $45 a year.

But a price can’t be put on the work that goes into the garden.

“Those gardens are labors of love. This is so sad,” Gorham said.