Growing as a Community! Register Now for Your Plot in the Summit Achieve Community Garden
Spring will soon arrive and gardeners all around the Garden State will begin weeding and preparing soil for early spring planting. Right here in Summit, New Jersey is no exception! Novices to experienced gardeners are joining together to share the benefits of gardening, not only for enjoyment, but for a healthier community!
The Summit Achieve Community Garden (SACG), a fenced-in garden located on Beauvoir Place, has 52 raised beds available for community members to grow organic food.
Sitting on a parcel of land donated for use by Overlook Medical Center, SACG is partially funded by a grant to the Summit Area YMCA from the Centers for Disease Control's ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health, Innovation & Environmental Change) program. Additional support is provided by grants from the Overlook Foundation, the Summit Garden Club, and the Junior League of Summit.
The goal of the Summit ACHIEVE Community Garden is to grow organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs to promote healthy eating within the community.
YMCA Member Kara Richardson Whitely describes her experience with the SACG as a huge part of her own healing. "I have a garden plot in a sunny spot where there's water and I can teach my kids about gardening. I start every spring growing things like lettuce, cauliflower and kale and you almost don't need to go to the grocery store because you have such great stuff coming from your own garden."
Hear more about Kara's Story:
Anyone in the community is welcome to register online for a plot. Registration is going on now and plots will be assigned on March 7.
The YMCA offers financial assistance to lower income gardeners in order to participate in the Community Garden. Gardeners meeting the income requirements are eligible for a reduced Summit ACHIEVE Community Garden plot fee. The Garden has specific operating rules that all gardeners and co-gardeners must follow in order to participate. There is a limitation of one garden plot per household.
For more information about financial assistance or about the Summit Achieve Community Garden, contact:
Deb Grassier
Summit Achieve Community Garden Coordinator
908-738-2165
sacg@thesay.org
The mission of the Summit ACHIEVE Community Garden is to bring neighbors together to share the benefits of organic gardening for a healthier community. To this end, we strive to provide fresh vegetables to our neighbors who visit the Saint Teresa Food Pantry. We ask that you consider donating your excess crops to the Food Pantry when we organize weekly collections, and sign up to work in the Food Pantry beds. Visit Summit Achieve Organic Garden for more information.