Newsroom

We are proud to announce that Wasatch Community Gardens (WCG) has been chosen by Smith's Food & Drug as their September 2021 Zero Hunger Hero Award recipient. “It's such an honor to receive this award from Smith's,” said WCG's Executive Director Georgina Griffith-Yates. “We have so many incredible partners throughout this community, and it means so much as each of those entities, including us, are able to be recognized and share what we're doing here so that others can come, take part in our mission, for people to be able to grow and eat local organic and healthy food.”

Click here to read the full article and to watch our spotlight on FOX13's "This Is The Place."

We celebrated the grand opening of the Richmond Park Community Garden on August 4, 2021 - WCG's 16th community garden. A big thank you to community gardeners Sean Whaley and Bailey Roberts for sharing their experiences in the garden at the event, as well as Mayor Mendenhall and Council Person Ana Valdemoros.

"For me, the garden has brought back memories of my grandfather and what he taught me about gardening," Sean said. "It brings these memories to life while also allowing me to share produce with my friends and co-workers.”

Richmond Park currently serves 33 community gardeners, with Public Pick plots outside the garden that provide fresh veggies for all to enjoy. The park is named after human rights activist and community leader Mignon Richmond Barker, who was the first African-American woman to graduate from a college in Utah. Thank you to Dr. Jackie Thompson for her excellent history lesson about Mignon at the event.

For more coverage of the event, check out KSL's article, "Pick a tomato, sunflower at Salt Lake's newest community garden, mayor says"

We are thrilled to announce that all three stops on this year's virtual Urban Garden & Farm Tour - coordinated in partnership with PBS Utah's Modern Gardener - are now live and available for viewing! Wasatch Community Gardens (WCG) annually hosts the Urban Garden & Farm Tour to generate energy, raise awareness, and share ideas about urban gardening in the Salt Lake Valley. To best navigate ever-changing COVID considerations, our in-person Tour was once again transitioned to a digital format. Join our Community Education Director Marybeth Janerich as she samples some of the most interesting, creative, and inspiring backyards, urban homesteads, and community gardens the Salt Lake Valley has to offer. This year, we visited three unique gardens:

• Gopal: New Roots community gardener
• Misty and Alan: family-friendly pollinator garden
• Lori and Dave: year-round food production with hoop houses, fruit trees, and food preservation

Click below to join us on the tour!

You may have read that, as WCG settles into its new digs at the Wasatch Community Gardens' Campus, the Potter Family has thrown down a $50,000 challenge grant to kick off the “Ashley Patterson Garden Education Fund.” It will match all gifts received by September 1, 2021 up to that amount to honor Ashley as she prepares to step down as Executive Director after two decades of Board and Executive Leadership. We are very grateful to the Potter Family for this vote of confidence in our future, and for many years of support.

The Ashley Patterson Garden Education Fund will ensure that the organization can launch this new chapter in its history with confidence, expanding its services strategically, intentionally, and equitably. Please watch this short video to see and hear more. 

Emily says, "As a former Executive Director and Board Member of the organization myself, I admire the work that Ashley has done over the last ten years and know first-hand how challenging it can be. She has led the organization’s expansion, always ensuring that this growth is in line with WCG’s mission of empowering people to grow and eat healthy, organic, local food. She has kept the organization grounded: it knows what and who it is, always working to understand the community WCG serves to serve it better. 

Please join me in recognizing this important work by making a gift today, and in thanking Ashley for her incredible contributions to the 'little nonprofit that can.'"