Whitefish garden pushes for grant

The race is on for the Whitefish Community Garden to win a $25,000 grant to build an irrigation system and expand the garden.

The nonprofit group entered the Nature's Path Gardens For Good Contest on May 28 and immediately launched a communitywide "get out the vote" effort. By the afternoon of June 5 the group reached first place in the contest with 620 votes, but by Monday had slipped out of first place. Voting ends June 15.

The Nature's Path contest is set up online and requires contestants to ask their communities to vote for their idea. The top five vote-getting contestants then have an opportunity to vie for two $25,000 grants.

"We got news of the contest fairly late so were late in getting our entry submitted," said Jennie Henson, vice president of the garden's board of directors. "We felt confident the community would support us and vote for us but we had no idea the word would spread so fast or that we'd actually get to first place in such a short period of time."

Garden members want to use the grant money to hook up to city water, build an irrigation system, build more community relief beds for the North Valley Food Bank, offer more scholarships (free garden plots) to low-income families and begin building wheelchair-accessible plots.

North Valley Food Bank Director June Munski Feenan said the food bank no longer has a source for free fresh vegetables from local stores and will rely on the community garden now more than ever. In the downturned economy, the community need for food assistance has been steadily increasing.

Nature's Path has promised to donate up to $100,000 worth of food products to food banks in the winning communities.

To vote, go online to www.whitefishcommunitygarden.com/vote and follow voting instructions.

The Whitefish Community Garden began last spring on an acre of land set aside by the Whitefish United Methodist Church.

In its first year, gardeners focused on building the primary infrastructure and getting the garden growing. A fence was built to keep the deer out and protect young children while families were gardening.

Twenty-two raised beds were constructed, filled and planted. The orchard was started, as were several community beds devoted to growing produce for the North Valley Food Bank. Last year the garden provided 200 pounds of produce to North Valley Food Bank.

It has been a communitywide effort. Local businesses, youth groups, preschools, Boy Scout troops, master gardening volunteers and Whitefish Middle School students represent some of the community members volunteering and spending time in the garden.

For more information, contact Henson at 863-9758 or e-mail jlhenson@hotmail.com