Fresh Food For Those in Need

What started as a pumpkin patch on the Franklin First United Methodist Church campus more than 10 years ago has evolved into WCMGA's second most prolific community project. The Giving Garden has grown into an expansive five-acre community garden with a substantial vegetable field, two tomato hoop houses, a flower and herb garden, greenhouse for seed starting and teaching, and special garden for children called God's Little Acre. Each season, most of the plants placed in the garden are grown from seed in the on­site greenhouse with the help of Master Gardeners. Some project highlights include: 

• Each year, Williamson County Master Gardeners donate between 2,000-3,000 volunteer hours to support The Giving Garden. Volunteers help with seed starting, watering, harvesting and sorting produce for distribution, tending to the vegetable fields, serving on The Giving Garden Board of Directors, making flower arrangements for Meals on Wheels recipients and much more. 
• The Flower & Herb Garden serves as the location for our Williamson County Master Gardener intern project beds. Each year, intern groups manage 6 to 7 demonstration beds as part of the UT Extension Master Gardener program requirements. To see the latest intern project bed videos, visit our YouTube channel here.   
• While volunteers no longer weigh the produce that's generated from the gardens, in past years the gardens produced 30,000 pounds of food annually. In addition to the produce that is sent out to local food banks, The Giving Garden also distributes fresh herbs and flower arrangements. Now that the Franklin Farmer's Market takes place on Franklin First United Methodist Church grounds each Saturday, leftover produce is donated to The Giving Garden for inclusion in the weekly food distribution. 
• Both The Giving Garden volunteers and Master Gardeners utilize the latest scientific research when planning out what will be grown in the garden each year and how the soil can be improved to yield the greatest harvests. Meticulous records are maintained each day, capturing plant conditions, insect sightings, water application through the irrigation system, produce harvested, produce distributed and collective volunteer hours.    

The Giving Garden project aligns directly with WCMGA's mission to improve the lives of Tennesseans by promoting environmental stewardship, non­-commercial food production and human health and well­-being through residential and consumer horticulture education delivered by a dedicated and skilled volunteer network.

To learn more about The Giving Garden, visit their website here. The Williamson Scene also published a great article in 2021 on the project that you can read here.