Community Gardens of the Fox Valley

by Susan Richardson

Starting a garden can have many benefits. In addition to food security and self-sufficiency, gardening can be a great resource for educating children, and can provide many other benefits. Home
gardening not only encourages us to consider reclaiming our capacity to grow food, and is an outlet for restoring physical well being: it is estimated that 170 calories can be burned for every one half hour of planting, and 60 calories can be burned for every one half hour of watering.

Gardening can also save money. The USDA estimates that a 20x25 foot garden space can save up to $718.65 per year in fresh grown produce. Even with the initial investments of tools ($20), seeds ($25 for enough seeds to plant a 500 square foot site), a hose ($30) and soil and seed starting flats ($15), this is still a savings of almost $630 per year.

For those in the community who have limited space in their yards, or who live in apartment buildings, starting a garden is still a viable option. Community gardening is the action of developing public assets that will sustain and enhance each of the communities in which they exist.
Throughout the Fox Valley, Goodwill’s Community Garden Partnership (CGP) has been providing affordable garden rentals since 1999. It is recognized by the State of Wisconsin as an outstanding partner in conservation. Just $15 provides 500 square feet of growing space at one of the Community Garden sites.

The CGP also provides opportunities for diverse groups to share their experiences and knowledge with other gardeners at a variety of community locations, while promoting such things as self-sufficiency, environmental stewardship, creation of healthy civic space, and donations to food banks.

In 2011, 516 gardeners from 3 counties participated in the rental program, while donating well over 2500 lbs of food to local food pantries. From 2002 to the present, Community Garden participants
have grown over 1,400,000 lbs of food, which provided food values/savings at $1,662,000. In addition, the CGP provided educational programming to 1300 participants, 800 of whom were
children.

The CGP sponsors seven garden rental sites with four teaching garden sites in the Fox Cities, as well as an edible school yard development. In addition, there are demonstration sites at the Salvation Army and St. Joe's Food Pantry. In 2011, The CGP has opened its first Market Garden collaborative with the City of Appleton and has plans to open a 2nd Market Garden/Community Garden site in 2012 in collaboration with Outagamie County.

The CGP also provides educational classes to the community that focus on how to grow, harvest, prepare and preserve food, as well as ways to build soil and achieve better vegetable growth.

Community Garden sites offer such benefits as affordability and water access, as well as access to mulch wood chips, leaves, and resources from other gardeners.

For a complete listing of The Community Garden sites in the Fox Valley area, as well as classes available, visit

www.communitygardenpartnership.org.