Meet a G.N.O.M.E. donating homegrown produce in Denver, CO
Our Giving GNOMEs may have different approaches to gardening, but they all agree that Growing Nutritious and Outrageously-fresh Meals for Everyone is a meaningful way to give back to their communities. We're highlighting a few of their stories.
"Donating our produce is a natural solution to eliminating food waste and helping to combat food insecurity."
1. In 2-3 sentences, tell us a little about you and your garden.
We’re environmentalists and avid home cooks turned into large-scale gardeners somewhat by accident. Our garden space was once used as a parking lot, but now it’s a flourishing backyard farm. We grow a ton of organic produce and also grow native/drought tolerant food and habitat for pollinators and birds as well as cut flowers.
2. What motivates you to grow and share your homegrown produce?
We live in a community with a high rate of food insecurity that is also a food desert; our neighborhood lacks access to a grocery store. Fresh and healthy produce isn’t widely available for some, and we always have much more food than we can consume, so donating our produce is a natural solution to eliminating food waste and helping to combat food insecurity.
3. Tell us about your proudest gardening moment.
It’s hard to pick just one, but seeing our space go from a weedy mess to gradually becoming a habitat for all kinds of creatures we have never seen before is the best! We love seeing new birds, fungi, and insects around.
4. What garden tool can you not live without?
Plant velcro if that counts—if not, a good pair of pruners
5. What piece of advice would you give a beginning gardener?
Two things: Grow what you like to eat—it seems intuitive but don’t plant something like Zucchini or tomatoes unless you really enjoy eating it. Keep a garden journal from year to year so you know what worked well and what might need to be adapted.
Anything else you'd like to share with us or other gardeners?
Checking the FFC list of items frequently requested for donation by the community and planting a few extra of those things if space allows is a great way to garden for a cause. See the list here!
