The Adams-Friendship Elementary school garden has been in place for over 20 years and covers an area of 800 square feet with many raised beds. A 2017 Growing Together WI mini-grant involved a partnership with Master Gardener Volunteers, fifth grade classrooms, and summer school classes. A lack of leadership for the garden in 2018 prompted Be Healthy Adams County Coalition to step in and partner with FoodWIse to revive the garden. Growing Together WI 2019 mini-grant project goals included supplying produce for low income families, promoting environmental literacy for 4^th grade students, and connecting elementary school students to nature. FoodWIse taught nutrition education to 4^th grade students utilizing the curriculum Growing Healthy Kids and the Be Healthy Adams County Coalition provided garden-based lessons.

Partners of the Adams-Friendship Elementary School Garden include:

• Adams-Friendship School District
• Adams County Master Gardener Program/Extension Agriculture
• Health and Human Services Be Healthy Adams County Coalition
• Cypress Avenue and Greenhouse

Partners of the Barron Community Garden include:

• Barron County Developmental Services
• Barron County Aging & Disability Resource Center
• City of Barron
• Barron County Master Gardener Volunteers
• Barron Cupboard & Closet Food Pantry
• UW-Extension Barron County

Since 2014, Extension has collaborated with New Leaf Foods to hold an annual Green Bay Garden Blitz, selling and installing raised bed gardens in homes and organizations throughout the community. To date, 547 beds have been installed. Each year, New Leaf Foods selects a target population for its Green Bay Garden Blitz subsidized garden boxes. In 2019, school gardens were elected as the target population for subsidized garden beds. The partnership between Extension Brown County, Green Bay School District, and New Leaf Foods resulted in raised beds installed and planted at 10 elementary schools, advancing the Green Bay Area Public School District’s interest in school gardening, now called “A Garden in Every School” initiative. 837 pounds of fresh produce were donated to the school meal programs.

Partners of A Garden in Every School Initiative include:

• Green Bay Area Public School District
• New Leaf Blitz
• Brown County Community Gardens
• Master Gardener Volunteers

Growing Together WI mini-grant funds supported the establishment of a community garden plot at Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park is a site for the Portage USDA Free Summer Lunch Program and it is also the new site of the Portage Food Pantry, which is visited by residents at Howard Woods Apartments. The apartments are only available to those individuals and families with limited incomes and are approximately 0.2 miles from the food pantry/meal site, so residents can easily walk to and from the pantry/meal site. In 2019, six raised-bed garden plots were installed, each 4 feet by 12 feet, located near the Portage Food Pantry in a converted pump house in Lincoln Park. A total of 318 pounds of fresh produce were donated to the food pantry and gardening education was provided to kids who attended the summer meal program.

Partners of the Lincoln Park Learning Gardens include:

• Columbia County Master Gardeners
• Columbia County Extension Agriculture Program
• Parks and Recreation
• Portage Food Pantry
• Portage Summer Lunch Program

FoodWIse mini-grant funds supported the development of a community garden on land adjacent to the Superior Golden Apartments, a low-income senior apartment complex in the city of Superior. The Superior Community Gardens Association (SCGA) acquired land from the City of Superior in 2018. The SCGA built, maintained, and harvested the garden with volunteer assistance from neighboring resident family participants and the senior population. 25 pounds of produce were donated to two elementary schools located in the same census tract and the Northwest Community Services Agency food pantry. Gardening education was provided to youth and adults by Master Gardener Volunteers.

Partners of the Superior Community Garden include:

• Superior Community Gardens Association
• Master Gardener Volunteers
• Cooper and Northern Lights Elementary Schools
• Superior Golden Living Apartments
• Good Garden Company
• UW Extension Horticulture Program
• Northwest Community Services Agency Food Pantry

With the 2018 FoodWIse mini-grant, Master Gardener Volunteers and FoodWIse had the opportunity to partner on their first project together, the St. Vincent de Paul Pantry Garden. Eight elevated garden beds, soil, and plants were purchased to establish the space donated from Crossroads Community Garden. In addition to continuing to implement changes at the Crossroads Community Garden, the 2019 FoodWIse mini-grant funds expanded on gardening efforts by adding 4 elevated garden beds at Florence Elementary School to be utilized in the summer during Food, Fun, and Fitness programming for 1st-5th grade students. A total of 359 pounds of fresh produce were donated to St. Vincent de Paul food pantry and the school meal program. Nutrition and gardening education were provided by FoodWIse educators and Master Gardener Volunteers.

Partners of the Florence School Garden include:

• Florence County Elementary School
• UW-Extension Florence County
• Team Nutrition
• St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry
• 4-H (Torpedos group)

With a 2018 FoodWIse mini-grant, two raised garden beds were installed at the Northern Grant County Food Pantry. This garden was a huge success and in 2019 mini-grant funds were used to expand the project to a second garden location in Lancaster. 28 pounds of fresh produce were donated to Lancaster Food Pantry and the Northern Grant County Food Pantry.

Partners of the project include: 

• Master Gardener Volunteers
• SWCAP Northern Grant County Food Pantry
• Lancaster Food Pantry
• Lancaster Community Garden
• MultiCultural Outreach Program

• Master Gardener Volunteers
• SWCAP Iowa County Food Pantry
• Plymouth Congregational Church
• Ridgeway Elementary School
• Feeding Friends
• MultiCultural Outreach Program

With a 2018 FoodWIse mini-grant, a Growing Together Wisconsin partnership with Master Gardener Volunteers and the Shullsburg FFA Garden embarked on the first year of utilizing garden and nutrition education to create opportunities for learning the importance of how to grow and prepare fresh produce. Due to unforeseen challenges, in 2019 the garden was reestablished at the Lafayette County Food Pantry in Darlington. Creating the garden at the food pantry proved to be very successful.

Partnerships include:

• Master Gardener Volunteers
• Extension 4-H Program
• SWCAP Lafayette County Food Pantry

74 pounds of fresh produce were donated to the Lafayette County Food Pantry.

Pillars formed in 2018, by a merger of the Homeless Connections, Fox Valley Warming Shelter, and Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities. The Pillars Community provides adults and families with emergency shelter, basic needs, and affordable housing. As part of Pillars Housing Solutions, the Ascend Initiative provides supportive services for young adults living with mental health challenges. The mission of Ascend is for young adults to build life skills for independent living and self-care practices, and to stabilize and improve the mental health of participants so that they can maintain a healthy lifestyle on their own in the community once they leave the program.

Recognizing the therapeutic benefits of gardening and how it can help build and enhance many of these skills, Ascend and Extension saw an opportunity for developing a lasting partnership. In 2018, Master Gardeners taught container gardening to Ascend participants, and FoodWIse provided nutrition education related to the food being grown. Looking to take this concept one step further, Growing Together mini-grant funds established raised garden beds in 2019. Families served by the Pillars Community had limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables at the Pillars Adult and Family Shelter which houses a food pantry. The onsite gardens resulted in 150 pounds of produce donated to the food pantry, increasing the availability of fresh produce to Pillars patrons.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Community (SMC) is a Federally recognized Native American Tribe located in rural Shawano County. In the past couple years, a few community gardens were established on the reservation to provide the tribe with fresh produce. While there are two small stores located in neighboring towns, a grocery store with a large selection of fresh food items is at least 30 miles away for tribal members.

Growing Together mini-grant funds established two gardens on the Mohican Family Center premises to teach children about planting traditional Mohican foods and promoting gardening as a family. Raised garden beds were also established at the Ella Besaw Center, a Community Based Residential Facility (CBRF) owned and operated by the Stockbridge Munsee Tribe for Elders and physically handicapped who cannot live alone.

The Wolf River Master Gardener Volunteers lent their expertise and passion for gardening to grow and teach about healthy fresh produce in a traditional way. 432 pounds of fresh produce was provided to the tribal community through Stockbridge Food Distribution, the Elderly Center, and the F.R.E.S.H. Project “Share The Bounty” sites.

Partnerships include:

• Mohican Family Center
• Ella Besaw Residential Center
• Wolf River Master Gardeners
• UW Extension Shawano County
• Stockbridge Munsee Community-Band of Mohican Indians
• Stockbridge Food Distribution