Covid 19

Plant for the People

A Community of Gardeners Shared their Food with the Community

In the spring of 2020, Burlington launched the “Plant for the People” program with the goal of leveraging great local gardening talent to grow healthy, local food for our neighbors in need. We knew that there was an active and accomplished gardening community in and around Burlington, and we hoped to tap into that talent to capture extra fruits and veggies in people’s backyards or Victory gardens for Feeding Chittenden.

We partnered with Red Wagon Plants to distribute over 6,000 plants to Burlington-area gardeners in June, July, and August. We worked with first time gardeners with new found time on their hands, others were experienced and looking to expand during this time and help fight food insecurity. All told, over 290 gardeners enrolled in the program. We collected produce twice or three times a week, processing it and preparing for immediate delivery to Feeding Chittenden in Burlington’s Old North End.

The collections were the high point, as we enjoyed meeting the garden community, discussing their progress and of course, seeing what their generous donations weighed. When we concluded operations on October 1, 2020, together we had grown and donated an additional 6,200 pounds of produce to Feeding Chittenden. That is a lot of tomatoes! Our heartfelt thanks to these generous and talented gardeners!

Stay tuned for updates as we look towards to 2021 growing season. 
Thank you for all who participated!
 

Questions? Contact the RRC at 802-755-7239 or recovery@burlingtonvt.gov.

Share your garden photos, videos, stories, tips and tricks online with #Plant4People.