With the focus up providing fresh and nutritious produce for food insecure families, this year the Waverly Community Sharing Garden and Orchard and volunteers grew and donated 12,476 pounds to area food banks and meal sites.
This joint project between the city of Waverly and the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach—Bremer County office, completed its 15th year on plots lost to the devastating 2008 Cedar River flood. Rising food costs and cuts to relief programs make it important to the one-in-eight Iowans facing food insecurity.
During the growing season, many local volunteers, especially the Waverly Exchange Club, planted, weeded, watered and harvested the vegetable plot on Second Street SW, just west of South Riverside Park.
The orchard is one block south. Other individuals ranging from local Girl Scout troops, private individuals, plus groups who volunteered on the Waverly Day of Sharing, helped spread the workload. Since it was created in 2010, this project has grown and donated over 117,000 total pounds to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and area pantries. Expenses have been covered through grants and donations.
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