Free Community Garden helps more than 50 families put produce on their kitchen tables
KRONENWETTER, Wis. (WSAW) - As prices rise at the grocery store, affording fresh produce gets harder. That’s why more than 50 families use the help of a free community garden in Kronenwetter to grow their own.
“We don’t want money to stand in the way of putting food on the table,” said Marty Harris, land owner.
20 years ago Harris and her husband started a small garden.
“We started with one garden down by the road when a family that we knew didn’t have space on their own land to garden,” said Harris.
The garden has only grown as costs rise at the grocery store, making more people interested. Harris said they fill up the garden pretty much every year.
Many families have come to rely on it for fresh food.
“A lot of these people wouldn’t be able to afford this much of this kind of food to put on the table. And they supply their family year-round,” said Harris.
People enjoy working in the garden, according to Harris, and so does she.
“We’ve had all positive reactions and they thank us so much and my husband and I just want to thank them back because this enriches our lives so much,” said Harris.
Harris said she’s learned a lot about different cultures and gardening. Most who use her land are Hmong families who grow food popular in their culture.
“A lot of the gardeners are growing things that one wouldn’t easily find in the grocery store or the farmers’ markets here, things more specific to their traditional culture,” said Harris.
It’s a lot of work to coordinate, but Harris said it’s worth it.
“But I think we reap bigger rewards than the effort we put in. Through friendships, knowing that we can help people who don’t have another place to grow food. We just make all these connections and the land is here. As long as we are here we’ll keep doing this,” said Harris.
If you’d like to inquire about a space of your own, you can call Harris at (715) 571-3896.
Copyright 2022 WSAW. All rights reserved.