Cultivating Community Gardens

Understanding where our food comes from and feeding neighbors in the communities we call home are a cornerstone of a strong community. That’s why Lakewinds partners with local school and community gardens that provide opportunities for folks to learn about, grow, and harvest food to provide fresh produce to community meals and food access initiatives. Each spring, we donate organic plant starts, seeds, and compost to school and community gardens in the Twin Cities metro area.

“Having a garden full of differing plant varieties allowed for so much learning and experimentation amongst our internship cohort. Young folks were able to connect with food in ways that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for our garden space.”

— Mackenna Cristilly

Food Systems Youth Coordinator, Pillsbury United Communities

Here are some of the highlights from the 2024 season of giving:

• Lakewinds donations to school and community gardens totaled over $13,000.
• Organic plant starts, seeds, and compost were donated to 20 local nonprofits or schools.
• Seeds and plants were sourced from 5 local farms: North Circle Seeds, Humble Pie Farm, Green Earth Growers, Twin Organics, and Glacial Ridge Growers.

We keep it local by sourcing all of the organic plant starts we donate from farms in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The farmers know they’ll have a guaranteed market for hundreds of flats of plant starts, and the gardens receive the plants they need to grow the produce requested by the communities they serve – it’s a win-win! All of the seeds we donate come from local North Circle Seeds, a collective of Midwestern growers, who produce regionally adapted seed using chemical-free, sustainable, and organic practices.

Find out more about our School and Community Garden Giving program.

Partnership Requests

Community and school garden coordinators or local farms interested in partnership with Lakewinds Community Garden Giving program can submit a partnership request form below. (Public schools and nonprofits in the Twin Cities metro only, must be nonpartisan and nonsectarian.)