Community garden development workshop encourages growing together

“Community gardens are really more about community than they are gardening,” noted Ohio State University (OSU) Extension office horticulture program assistant Renee Clark, as she addressed a group gathered at the YMCA in Dover Feb. 15. Her audience included individuals interested in developing community garden programs for schools, churches, and various other groups in Tuscarawas and Stark counties. Clark reviewed the history of community gardening projects in the United States, and pointed out challenges and tips for successful projects.

The Community Garden Development Workshop was sponsored by both OSU and Healthy Tusc Taskforce members to equip interested individuals and groups with the necessary planning tools to create successful gardening projects. Lynn Angelozzi, of Tuscarawas County Job & Family Services, shared that her agency has seen a huge influx of families needing assistance during the past year.

“These are families that have never needed help before. They may have been making $40,000 to $60,000 a year in the past, but now have no income,” Angelozzi explained. “Food is a major concern for most. Community gardening is one way to help address those needs.”

Speakers told of the many benefits of community gardening, including physical exercise, stretching food dollars, building a sense of community among members, or doing so as a way to provide food for food banks or other agencies. Typically, a community garden is borrowed, rented, or owned by the gardeners, and is divided into plots according to the number of participants. Each group develops its own guidelines on sharing of gardening tasks, tools, and other garden responsibilities, including garden preparation and end of season cleanup. Some projects charge each participant a fee, while others are simply a voluntary group effort.

Barb Huff and Tina DeVecka, of New Philadelphia’s Faith Christian Church, told of their group’s efforts to establish a community garden for this season that will supply produce for local food bank efforts. They spoke of promising developments as well as hurdles they face in organizing the project.

“We have looked for donations of the things we need, and while some businesses and individuals have been very helpful, others don’t fully understand that we are doing this not for ourselves, but to raise food for the hungry in our community,” explained Huff. Volunteers will prepare, plant, tend, and harvest produce from the garden for distribution to those who need it most. The project has been named the Planting the Seeds community garden group.

Representatives from Uhrichsville’s Eastport Elementary were present to explore ways their school could work together to have a community garden for families within their school, while others were seeking information about gardening with a broader audience. Marsha Zoeller, of the Norma Johnson Center in Dover, expressed interest in hosting a community garden at the center, enlisting the help of local volunteers to do so. She also noted the usefulness of using a rain barrel collection system for watering gardens, and encouraged participants to attend an upcoming rain barrel workshop at the center April 26. Mention was also made of upcoming introductory gardening classes to be held at the Tuscarawas County Public Library in March and May.

Steph Wills, of the YMCA, asked attendees to consider planting an extra row in any gardens they tend, in order to provide food for the hungry in the community. Wills said that extra produce can be donated to any of five local food banks.

“We are here to help provide you with the information or resources you may need for community gardening projects,” stated Vickie Ionno, of the Tuscarawas County Health Department and the Healthy Tusc Taskforce.

All participants were provided with a community gardening toolkit notebook. Gardening guidance can be obtained from Clark, at the OSU office, by calling 330-339-2337. For more information on funding community garden projects, contact Ionno and her fellow task force members at 330-343-5555, or vickie.ionno@odh.ohio.gov, or Wills at steph@tuscymca.org.