Mitchell Giving Garden celebrates its birthday

T

he Mitchell Giving Garden at Riverside Park has been around for a year and volunteers, project partners and others who helped establish it gathered on Tuesday, September 7 for an anniversary celebration.

The community garden aims to help people in the region facing food insecurity. In its first year, the garden produced a variety of fresh vegetables, some of which benefited Sheperd’s staff food bank in the form of nearly two dozen loads.

The community garden features more than a dozen raised beds, built and installed by volunteers from Quartz Corp. on the company’s annual Volunteer Impact Day 2020. The garden has over 700 square feet of grow space.

The project moved forward after Spruce Pine City Council, at a meeting in 2020, unanimously approved a decision to offer the parcel of land in the park to the Mitchell County Cooperative Extension, which helped coordinate the county-wide community garden initiative.

The raised beds in the garden mirror those in the community garden at the Avery County Co-operative Extension Center. Other “giving gardens” in western North Carolina accomplish a similar goal: providing fresh, healthy food to residents in need.

The anniversary celebration brought together volunteers and partners to observe the garden, adorned with colorful balloons for the occasion.

The project would not be possible without the help of volunteers like Nichole Falco, who was present at the celebration.

“Volunteering has been an amazing way to connect with nature and my community while making friends,” said Falco. “And, the best part, doing something with my hands that is good for others.”

Members of the Mitchell Giving Gardens Board of Directors were also in attendance to mark the garden’s anniversary. Board members also volunteer their time to help with the garden.

As cooler weather approaches, the team plans for fall while anticipating future growing seasons and serving the community.

“We did some fall harvest and thought about the season,” said Florence Grant, board member and volunteer. “The year really flew. I am so grateful to everyone who helped make this a success.