News
Grow Food, Grow Hope Gears Up for 2012 Community Gardens Project
Applications Are Available and Due March 15
February 22, 2012
A bird's eye view of the 40 garden plots offers a community perspective on small plot gardening.
The Grow Food, Grow Hope Garden Initiative of Wilmington College is currently accepting applications for a garden plot at the Friends of Hope Community Garden or in your very own backyard through the Backyard Garden Project.
Please note: Grow Food, Grow Hope is project sponsored by AmeriCorps VISTA, a program that focuses on alleviating the effects of poverty. Therefore, preference will be given to those who are most in need of our program, though all are welcome to apply.
How You Can Help!
If you do not wish to participate in our program, there are still many ways in which you can help Grow Food, Grow Hope, our garden participants, and your community. Monetary donations will be accepted as a way to sponsor families for the Backyard Garden Project. We are in need of volunteers to mentor garden participants at the Friends of Hope Community Garden.
We are also launching Grow a Row this year, a new program in which you plant an extra row of fruits and vegetables that you plan to donate to local food pantries. For more information about Grow a Row, contact Sarah Bachman at sarah_bachman@wilmington.edu or 937-382-6661 ext. 693. Donations and volunteers are always accepted and appreciated.
If you know a family that would be a good fit for our garden programs, please pass along our information or contact Grow Food, Grow Hope to recommend them for one of our programs. Here is some more information about participating in our garden sites:
Located on the Wilmington College campus, the Friends of Hope Community Garden is a multi-plot vegetable and herb garden maintained by families and individuals in our community. The 4’x12’ plots are provided completely free of cost to participants due the generous support of private donors and a collaborative partnership between Monte Anderson and Randy Gerber of the Wilmington College Agriculture Department and the Center for Service & Civic Engagement Grow Food, Grow Hope program.
We ask that participants make a commitment to attend educational garden sessions once a week to care for their garden. Community garden participants meet every Tuesday evening or Saturday morning throughout the growing season, which typically runs May through early August. Education is an important element to the community garden, as we aim to make new gardeners self-sustainable in the future.
New or novice gardeners are paired with more experienced garden mentors who help in planting, weeding and harvesting in the plots. Participants are welcome to use all of the produce grown in their garden bed. Cooking and preservation demonstrations, children’s activities, movie nights, and other educational opportunities are also included.
Building on the success of the community garden on the Wilmington College campus, a similar format will be followed for the Grow Food, Grow Hope Backyard Garden Project. Families may apply to receive raised bed vegetable and herb gardens at their place of residence, with all resources being provided by Grow Food, Grow Hope. Participants are respectfully requested to make a suggested $25 donation to offset the cost of soil and other supplies. There are limited sponsorships available for this program.
Garden recipients will work with a team from Grow Food, Grow Hope to build their raised bed and are asked to make a commitment to attend weekly meetings to receive seeds and learn how to plant, weed, harvest, and maintain their gardens at home. The focus of this project is to provide families with the education, resources and confidence necessary to grow a garden at home, which will help supplement grocery bills through access to fresh and nutritious food.
To get an application, sponsor a family or become a mentor, contact Bernadette Gallagher at 937-382-6661 ext. 693 or bernadette_gallagher@wilmington.edu, or visit www.growfoodgrowhope.com. Applications are due by March 15, 2012. Space is limited, apply today!
