Giving Gardens: Giving Back

As of the second week of September, Duke Farms’s Community Garden has donated approximately 2,720 pounds of produce to local food banks—about 200 pounds over last year’s goal! The variety of produce this year include items such as:

Tomatoes
Peppers
Zucchini
Squash
String beans
Carrots
Beets
Radishes
Onions
Turnips
Parsnips
Swiss chard
Kale
Collard greens
Cabbage
Potatoes
Lettuce
Assorted herbs
Sweet potatoes

For the third year in a row, the Community Garden at Duke Farms has actively supported local organizations. Eight 10’ x 10’ plots are set aside as ‘giving gardens;’ all produce harvested in these plots are designated to be donated, completely managed, coordinated, and supervised by volunteers. Volunteers also run the weighting, sorting, and delivering of produce at the beginning of each week; last year, volunteers allotted almost 550 hours of their time toward food donation programs! Produce in these eight plots are combined with produce grown in the 40’ x 40’ demonstration plot used for education, as well as extra produce donated from plot owners throughout the gardens.

With the dedicated work of our volunteers, plot owners, and coordinators, it looks like the Community Gardens is well on its way to reaching this year’s goal of 3,500 pounds by the end of October!