FOOD for Lane County - There’s always something happening at the Gardens!

There’s always something happening at the Gardens!

Volunteer Drop-In Hours
GrassRoots: Tuesday through Saturday, 9am to 2pm
Youth Farm: Wednesday through Saturday, 9am to 3pm
Churchill Community Garden: Tuesday and Thursday, 9am to 4pm, and Saturday, 10am to 2pm

Youth Farm Stand
Every Saturday from July through September, 10am-2pm, the Youth Farmers sell fresh, nutritious produce grown and harvested at the farm. The stand is located onsite at 705 Flamingo Ave. off Game Farm Road in Springfield.

Workshops
Take one of several free hands-on pruning and composting workshops offered by OSU/Lane County Extension Master Gardeners, OSU/Lane County Extension Compost Specialists and the City of Eugene at FOOD for Lane County’s GrassRoots Garden. For a schedule of classes, visit OSU/Lane County Extension online or call (541) 682-4243.

Community Supported Agriculture
Become a community supported agriculture (CSA) member of the Youth Farm and receive a weekly boxed selection of all the produce that is ripe and ready at the farm. Sliding scale prices are available. I want to become a CSA member!

Sponsor a Youth Farmer
Each season, FFLC hires a crew of teenagers to work at the Youth Farm. Local teenagers, ages 14-18, are recruited from area schools and youth service programs. Crew positions are open to low-income youth, and hiring is based on need and diversity as much as personal qualifications. Youth Farmers are responsible for assisting with all aspects of running the farm, including running a produce stand and a Community Supported Agriculture membership program. For information on how to sponsor a Youth Farmer this summer, contact Gardens Program Director Jen Anonia at (541) 343-2822 or gardens@foodforlanecounty.org.

Educational Programs
The Gardens provide opportunities for kindergarteners through adults to learn about food systems, hunger issues and gardening. Curriculum is available for use in the gardens, the classroom or at FOOD for Lane County’s warehouse.

Garden Plot Rentals
At the Youth Farm and Churchill Community Garden, 70 community garden plots are available for rent for a low fee on a sliding scale. $15-$30 coves the costs of maintaining the equipment, irrigation and garden tools. Community gardeners come from a range of backgrounds and hold monthly work parties that encourage them to share knowledge and skills with each other. Gardens staff are available to answer questions, offer gardening advice and lead workshops on a variety of topics.

Adopt-A-Plot
The Adopt-A-Plot program enables businesses, groups, individuals and families to contribute to the FOOD for Lane County Gardens Program by making a tax-deductible donation that provides for the adoption of:

garden vegetable or flower bed(s) from bed preparation to crop harvesting

compost bin(s), form raw ingredients to finished compost

fruit tree(s) during a full season of care, from winter pruning to summer/fall harvest

a greenhouse/growtunnel that may have several crops during the year

a dahlia plant that is a mainstay of our flower bouquet summer sales

Follow the process of preparing the bed, seeding the starts, planting, weeding and most importantly watching your selection mature to harvest. You may choose to work the bed or just visit to watch how “your garden” grows. If you choose to adopt a compost bin or a fruit tree, come to the garden and attend a compost demonstration or a pruning workshop and see your gift grow and produce.

Volunteers
Community volunteers come from a range of skills and backgrounds, and donate over 1,800 hours annually. All are welcome and encouraged to share and learn new skills. Potential activities include: seeding, greenhouse work, transplanting, soil preparation, watering, compost making and harvestings as well as light carpentry, irrigation and small machinery operation. All volunteers are welcome to share in the harvests, and for more than 150 limited-income families the gardens’ bounty is the only fresh fruits and vegetables that they access. In participating in the garden work, volunteers gain much more than food. Volunteering at the gardens honors the abilities and contributions of all participants.

Flower Sales
Starting in August, look for cut flowers from the GrassRoots Garden at the consignment booth at the Tuesday Farmers Market. Also, pick-your-own flowers will be available at GrassRoots Garden.

Contact Jen Anonia at (541) 343-2822 or gardens@foodforlanecounty.orgfor more information about FOOD for Lane County’s Gardens program.