DonateThe Kitchen Garden Project
Since 1993, the Kitchen Garden Project (KGP) has given over 2,000 gardens to low/no-income families in the greater South Sound! KGP garden recipients receive 3 raised beds, a trellis, fertile soil, seeds, starts, a gardening guide, and the opportunity to work with a garden mentor. The gardens are built with the help of the KGP coordinator, KGP assistant, interns, the GRuB Youth Crew, and many community volunteers.
KGP Wrap-Up 2009
Ahhh...Things have finally calmed down in KGP land. Rochelle has returned, bringing with her a new, adorable addition to the KGP corner, little Lila. So, here is where the Kitchen Garden Project stands...
Garden Builds: As of the end of the season, we built 110 gardens throughout Thurston & Mason Counties, from as near as down the street and as far as Tahuya! Our annual end-of-season celebration, Day of the Bed (10 gardens built in one day!), went off without a hitch! It was a really beautiful day filled with amazing volunteers and yummy food.
Starts: We finished our start deliveries at the end of June and had enough left over to pass some on to a gardening workshop for an ESL/parenting class at Mason County Literacy that Anders and Rachel helped to teach. A batch went to the Thurston County Food Bank as well.
Workshops: We hosted great Summer KGP workshops in Olympia, Shelton, and Rochester in June. We had about 60 people come out for the Olympia workshop and 15-20 people at both Shelton and Rochester. All of the workshops went really well and led to some awesome networking between gardeners. One of our interns, Erica, delivered a great presentation in Shelton and Rochester about transplanting, pest control, edible weeds, etc. and fielded lots of questions. A big thank you to Kelly from Left Foot Organics who presented at the Olympia workshop, and to our crew who helped with childcare and start distribution at all three workshops.
Our 2010 waiting list to receive gardens is already full, a first for us at this point in the year, so it?s clear that the need in our community is higher than ever. To help us ensure that we can meet this need, consider giving your time or financial support to this integral program.
For more information on how you can get involved with KGP, contact kgp@goodgrub.org.
Testimonials
"My daughter and I have had an amazing summer outside because of our gardens. We spent quality time together outside planting, weeding , watering, sometimes eating dirt. We got outside so much more that we would have before the gardens. And the gardens brought together everyone in our lives. We just moved to our house and the gardens made it so that we talked with the neighbors and built a little community. I have shared some of my ‘oops I planted too much’ harvest with some of the neighbor girls who come by and now can identify everything that is growing in my garden. You are giving people gardens-but what you are really giving them is healthier life and diet choices, food assistance, a sense of community… Brilliant!"
"One day while preparing to harvest, weed and water our plot with my daughter, she got to the plot before me and started identifying the plants and informing me of what was ripe for harvest and what were weeds. She instructed me to get our bags ready and she started pulling kale leaves and tomatillos off the plant. I stood back for awhile and observed her care and gentleness. Thank you GRuB for another opportunity to educate the children about food, gardening, community and love for the earth."
"I loved watching for the seed to emerge and seeing them grow. My three sons came and planted vegetables and flowering plants on Mother’s Day and a month and a half later we were eating lettuce and baby spinach. That mushroom soil is phenomenal! This has been a wonderful learning experience. It has given both my son and I a lot of hope and happiness. Thank all of you for your work and encouragement."
"This story happened more that once: the looks on my children’s faces. I would show them something I’d picked, 'That came out of our garden!' and they would echo my words with their voices full of a mixture of excitement, wonder and delight. Sometimes they would discover a growing vegetable and enthusiastically draw me over to see it. It has been a wonderful experience for us as a family. THANK YOU!!!"
What can you do?
- Purchase a Fundraising Garden for your home, or a friend's, and all proceeds will go towards KGP gardens.
- Simply Give a Garden or a Garden Share to a family in your name or a special someone's name as a meaningful gift or in memory.
- Volunteer, become a Garden Mentor, or come Build Gardens with us!
There are a lot of satisfying ways to get involved with KGP this year. If you have any questions about these opportunities please don't hesitate to call our KGP Coordinator at 753-5522, or send a message to the Kitchen Garden Project through our contact form.
The Kitchen Garden Project really does make a difference in our community...we hope you can be a part of this year's success!