Community businesses and organizations help fight hunger by developing and tending a community garden. The harvest goes to needy families. This team works to establish community gardens throughout Portage County. These gardens help increase a family's food security by providing healthy and nutritious fresh produce. Currently there are nine gardens whose entire harvest is donated to food pantries.

Previous Activities:

The cold and dry growing season reduced or delayed the harvest of many crops this growing season.  A few of the gardens did not produce much at all this year.  Gardens which focused on crops that thrive in colder weather had excellent harvests.

A new program for collecting produce donations at the Saturday Stevens Point Farmers Market went very well.  The farmers were very generous and the food distribution sites were thankful for the produce donations from this new source.  This program is a joint effort with Central Rivers Farmshed, a network of people, businesses, organizations, and productive lands that create a local food economy.

Future efforts should better document the total need for produce, by variety, from each of the different food distribution sites in the county and match produce production to this need from all the different sources available.

Garden stewards have been identified for all gardens.  The new steward for the Rockman’s Catering garden was identified during a planting event at the Plover Boys and Girls Club garden with some volunteers from the Frame Memorial Church.

Future Activities:

Planning for next season’s gardens should be made with information about the total need for produce, by variety, from each of the different food distribution sites in the county and information about other sources of other produce donations.

After final harvests the gardens should be prepped for the next growing season.  This will include collection and storage of tools and compost bins, take down of temporary fences, removal of plant materials, addition of compost/soil amendments and fall tilling.

Garden Locations: (new garden map coming soon!)
Two new gardens were planted for the 2009 season.  The host of one garden is Ann Wetter and Family - Jeremy Rankin has agreed to be the steward of the garden and another at Tangelwood Assisted Living Center in Plover

Food Donations can be taken to:
You may make donations of food and produce at one of the following food distribution centers in Portage County:

• Family Crisis Center 1616 W River Dr
• House of Peace 1248 Portage (contact Mitzi Hlavak 341-5676)
• Lincoln Center 1519 Water St.
• Operation Bootstrap 5000 Heffron
• Salvation Army 1600 Briggs
• Interfaith Food Pantry 2820 Plover Springs (contact 341-5655)
• St. Vincent DePaul 2700 Post Rd, Plover

Volunteer or Donate Garden Tools and Supplies:
If you have new or gently used garden tools & supplies (rakes, hoes, spades, trowels, etc.) we can put them to good use!
Always accepting them!

Gardens Supported by:
Lynn’s Greenhouse, Anthony Simkowski, Chet Biadasz,
Jungs Garden Center

Plants were donated by Lynn’s Garden Center and Moondance Meadows farm.   Many seeds were also donated by Moondance Meadows farm.