The Giving Garden Gives Food And Much More

 By Tana Kappel
MSU-Bozeman News Service

8/3/99 - BOZEMAN— What does a Giving Garden give?

"An awful lot," says Renee Harris, director of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank: "Self-reliance," "good nutrition," "therapy," "a way to save money" and "a connection with where food comes from."

"It is touching the lives of a whole lot of people, and almost half of those involved are children," says Harris. A lot of them come to the garden with their parents who are volunteering their time in return for fresh produce from the garden.

This summer, some 200 people are planting, weeding, watering and harvesting at the garden, located at the Montana State University Horticulture Farm south of West College Avenue. Some of the volunteers work in the garden because they enjoy it and want to receive the fresh produce, says Harris.

"For people who are busy, especially single parents, this garden offers a way for them to get nutritious food for a very small time commitment. Even if a person can only afford to give one hour a month, they can still get the benefits," she says.

Produce not taken by volunteers goes to 24 senior citizen homes and clients of the Food Banks in Bozeman, Three Forks, West Yellowstone and Meagher and Park counties.

"We think we'll probably distribute more than 6,000 pounds of fresh produce by the end of the summer," says Harris.

Other volunteers — like 4-Hers and other groups — help in the garden as a way to provide community service, while still others are fulfilling their court-ordered community service requirements, says David Baumbauer of the MSU Plant Sciences Department.

School children, teachers and other groups visit the garden to learn about what is growing there and how a community garden is managed.

"Fewer people are gardening today than in the past, and many have no connection with farming or gardening," he says. "Here we can teach people about where food comes from."

The garden is not new. Harris and Baumbauer came up with the idea three years ago.

For the first Giving Garden, the Food Bank rented space from the city. Then last year, the garden was at the Museum of the Rockies. But this year, the garden is on the one-acre MSU site where there's a greenhouse, facilities and students — which all make the garden work better than in previous years, says Harris.

"Being able to locate this garden at MSU is a win-win situation. If we had to buy that land or build that greenhouse to grow food, it would cost several hundred thousand dollars," says Harris.

MSU students benefit too. The garden serves as a living laboratory for students in Baumbauer's Market Gardening class. During the course, which ran from mid-May through June, the students designed the garden plan and the management strategy, and three of the students were hired as interns to manage the garden through the summer.

MSU horticulture senior Bryce Yarbrough says he didn't know much about gardening when he began his internship. But he's learned fast and is now teaching and managing the volunteers, who put in time planting, weeding, watering and harvesting.

"I'm used to being told what to do. Now I'm learning how to manage people. It's a big responsibility," says Yarbrough, from Pensacola, Florida.

The garden is set up in eight blocks in which different types of vegetables with different nutrient requirements are grown. "We're trying to use organic techniques. Since we have a lot of labor we can hand-pull weeds," says Baumbauer.

The garden includes tubers and other root vegetables; leafy vegetables like lettuce and cabbage; peas, beans and other legumes; and tomatoes and other fruiting vegetables. Some rather exotic vegetables, like white carrots, purple snap beans and Chioggia beets (which look like red onions on the inside) are also growing on the garden.

Some of the unique vegetables and dry beans are grown for seed, which will be sold to help provide funding for the operation. Other funding comes from area churches and organizations. And, the National Gardening Association provided seeds, plants and tools.

No potatoes are grown at the garden, because the Food Bank already receives lots of potatoes from area potato growers.

"This garden is just superb," says Harris. "I'm excited because I see people working here who are developing self-reliance. And it's just therapeutic being here. It's a gorgeous site."

Side-bar: Volunteers Welcome at the Giving Garden

People who want to give a few hours of their time in exchange for fresh produce are welcome at the Giving Garden. The garden's working hours are Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m., and Friday mornings from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Individuals as well as family or organization members can log their hours on a time sheet in exchange for "shares" of produce. For more information contact the Food Bank at 586-7600.

Go to more feature stories arranged by category.

Send questions or comments to Carol Flaherty, MSU Communications Services, Bozeman, MT 59717 or email Flaherty at carolf@montana.edu.

You are the 8333rd person to access this page.