WC Extension Office & First Lutheran Food Pantry offers free gardening programs, volunteer opportunities

The Wright County Extension office has partnered with the First Lutheran Food Pantry to increase access to fresh produce for food pantry shoppers by creating a community garden.  The Food Pantry Community Garden is located at the community garden plots north of the Iowa Specialty Hospital.  This effort also includes free educational programming, to both children and adults, to help community members increase their self-sustainability in gardening.  Volunteer opportunities are also available to all community members interested in learning new skills or using their expertise to increase access to healthy foods in Wright County.  All abilities and ages are encouraged to attend programming and volunteer.  No experience is necessary!

Upcoming Opportunities in May

Children’s Programming at the Community Garden

1:00pm, May 8^th, Introduction to Gardening with Painting of Raised Garden Beds

2:00pm, May 22^nd, Planting Demonstration with Master Gardeners

Adult Programming with Master Gardeners at the Community Garden

1:00pm, May 22^nd, Planting Demonstration

Volunteer Training

Choose one volunteer training on May 15^th, 22^nd, or 29^th at 3pm

Trainings located at the First Lutheran Church, 420 1^st St Northwest in Clarion

For more information or to register, please contact Missy Loux at the Wright County Extension at 515-532-3453 or louxm@iastate.edu. 

Volunteer Opportunity at the Community Garden

9am, May 8^th, Building Raised Garden Beds

The community garden is funded by a Master Gardener grant.  Growing Together mini grants have been funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s SNAP-Education since 2016. Iowa was the first state to create this model, which has been replicated in Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Wyoming and Montana. Over the past five years, the mini-grants have resulted in food donations of over 434,729 pounds.  This year, the Growing Together Iowa team received a record number of applications, including eight new counties that have never applied before.