Fact sheet developed by The Come to the Table Project: People of Faith Relieving Hunger and Supporting Local Agriculture in NC
Why have a community garden?
• Increase access to healthy fruits and vegetables
• Build relationships that cross ages, races, incomes and cultures
• Nurture leadership, confidence, pride, curiosity and patience
• Get kids excited about healthy foods
• Connect to Creation
• Provide an opportunity to exercise
• Teach agricultural skills and honor farming heritage
• Illustrate stories from Scripture about stewardship, seeds, and soil
• Encourage self-reliance
• Beautify neighborhoods
What is a community garden?
A community garden is any piece of land that’s gardened by a group of people. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Some require membership fees; some distribute produce for free to neighbors; some do both. Some give each member a plot; some have one common field. Some are on two or three acres; some have a few raised beds in an urban parking lot. Think about what works best for your congregation and consider joining an existing garden rather than starting your own. Aim for the small successes that reward and energize your members.
Garden Essentials Include:
Land, water supply, sunlight (≥8 hours), well-drained soil, tools and tool-shed,neighbor buy-in, a dedicated group of gardeners (≥10), volunteers, parking, liability, community partnerships.
More information:
American Community Gardening Association: www.communitygarden.org
Growing Small Farms: www.growingsmallfarms.org
NC Community Garden Partners: www.nccgp.org
NC Cooperative Extension Gardening Resources: https://nccommunitygarden.ncsu.edu/resources.html
National Gardening Association: www.garden.org
MO Cooperative Extension Community Gardening Toolkit: https://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/miscpubs/mp0906.pdf