Are you familiar with Grinnell's Giving Gardens? The first community Giving Garden was started in the summer of 2013 at Grinnell Regional Medical Center. The gardens were developed as a part of a community transformation grant, and are intended to give the Grinnell community access to fresh foods. Several locations were added in the summer of 2014, and each summer thereafter. As of today, there are Giving Gardens at GRMC, St. John's Lutheran Church, Summer Street Park (maintained by Rotary), St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Davis Elementary, Marvin Gardens, Grinnell Community Daycare & Preschool and Ahrens Park (began this summer and is managed by Imagine Grinnell). 
Anyone and everyone are welcome to harvest the produce; there is no cost to participate in the program and the gardens give access to fresh, nutritional, local foods. Any produce that is not collected by the community-at-large is gathered and donated to MICA, senior centers and other locations that serve food-insecure families. In the summer of 2017 alone, more than 2,000 pounds of food were donated to area agencies! The gardens are sustainable as well -- each having sheds to keep tools on-site, rain barrels to help with water retention and are managed by a committee with a representative from each of the organizations listed above.
It may seem as though 'gardening season' is over, but September is a great month to secure some great produce, and the gardens are producing like crazy right now. Grinnell's Giving Gardens are a remarkable effort of community collaboration, and are there waiting for you!
--Rachael Kinnick
p.s. Don't forget to head downtown this evening to catch the Grinnell-Newburg Homecoming Parade (starts at 5:30pm) and cheer the Tigers to victory at the pep rally afterward! And don't worry about cooking - the Dollars for Scholars Dogs for Dollars fundraiser will be taking place in Central Park immediately following the parade.
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