A New Season in the Community Gardens
The community gardens are buzzing with life and the first harvest of the year is rolling in. The winter beds are full of collards, kale, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, herbs, radishes, and rutabaga. Thanks to Charleston’s year round growing season, we have harvested and donated 240 pounds of fresh produce so far this year – resulting in 184 healthy, organic meals for families who are living with food insecurity.
As we gather the last of our winter greens, we’re also looking ahead—sorting through seed catalogs, taking inventory of last year’s seeds, and preparing trays for broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, mustards, onions, peas, radishes, turnips, rutabagas, and even potatoes. (Speaking of potatoes, we recommend sourcing red, small golden, or fingerling varieties from trusted suppliers like Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Johnny’s Seeds, or your local Tractor Supply!)
Since 2014, the Charleston Parks Conservancy’s Grow it Forward program has provided fresh, organic, park grown produce through our three community gardens, apiary and food forest to serve the 20% of Charleston’s population that lives with food insecurity.
Since inception, we have donated over of 17 tons of produce. We provide food weekly to partner organizations that work at the grassroots to fight food insecurity and equity, such as Amor Healing Kitchen, Stone Soup Collective, the Charleston County Public Library, and the Pink House Resource Center. See our 2024 food access and insecurity impact report for more information about this important program.
Thank you to our 2025 Grow it Forward supporters: Boeing Employee Community Fund, Exchange Club of Charleston, HDR Young Professionals, Publix Supermarket Charities, Roper Community Investment Fund and Trident United Way.