BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Healthy communities grow when we support one another. This summer, let your garden make a difference. Sharing your extra vegetables helps ensure neighbors facing food insecurity have access to fresh, nutritious produce. A bouquet of homegrown flowers is more than a beautiful gift—it boosts emotional well-being for both the giver and the receiver. Wellness truly starts with what we grow. Soothing herbs and edible flowers can bring calm, balance, and a little joy to everyday life. Your garden has the power to nourish, comfort, and uplift our community. Join the Illinois Extension Giving Garden and pledge to Grow and Give Back this season.
University of Illinois Extension serving Livingston, McLean, and Woodford Counties is offering seeds, plants, and education to any community member who wishes to grow a vegetable or flower Giving Garden. Participants receive materials for free when they pledge to donate 50% of their garden harvest to a community member in need. Every gardener in the community is welcome to participate, whether they have an acre to grow in or a single container.
Throughout the growing season, Illinois Extension staff will deliver a monthly educational email newsletter to help community gardeners grow a healthy, productive garden. Monthly guidance will include research-based information and videos covering site preparation, garden management, donation of a harvest, and seed saving. Gardeners will also have direct access to a garden donation tracker in the monthly emails – a tool that helps Illinois Extension report the incredible impact of each Giving Garden contribution.
Vegetable Kits
Vegetable Giving Garden kits include cucumber seeds for three planting hills, four tomato plants (two cherry, two slicer), and four pepper plants (two bell peppers, two jalapenos). Vegetable kits will also include info sheets that cover plant care and site preparation for each crop. Vegetable Giving Gardeners pledge to donate 50% of their vegetable harvest to local food pantries or individuals in need.
Cut Flower Kits
Cut flower Giving Garden kits include seeds to grow six types of flowers: sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, dill, calendula, and cornflower. All six plants are great for beginning gardeners to grow as cut flowers in the ground or a container. Cut flower kits also include info sheets that cover plant care and site preparation for growing each type of flower. Cut flower Giving Gardeners pledge to donate 50% of their fresh cut flowers as arrangements to a local care facility or a community member needing a “pick-me-up”.
Wellness Plants Kit
The wellness plant kits feature a collection of soothing herbs and edible flowers, including seeds of calendula, lemon balm, German chamomile, basil, cilantro/coriander, nasturtium, and transplants of lemongrass and mint. Each kit also includes information sheets with guidance on plant care and site preparation for every herb and flower. Wellness Plant Giving Gardeners pledge to donate 50% of their harvest to family, friends, or someone in need—sharing simple moments of joy and comfort. These plants offer a natural way to slow down, restore balance, and support emotional well‑being, helping us feel more centered, connected, and nourished each day.
In the first four years of the program, Giving Gardeners experienced moments of joy and surprise that have impacted their future gardening goals. When seeing firsthand the need for fresh food access at a crowded local food pantry, a Woodford County youth pledged to donate their entire garden to the local food pantry the following year. In the neighboring county, Livingston County 4-H Federation youth discovered that the collective efforts of growing a Giving Garden helped feed their community. Across all three counties, gardeners filled vases and faces with cheer while delivering fresh-cut flower arrangements. Over 2,000 pounds of fresh produce and five hundred floral arrangements have been donated to community members in need annually.
Make your pledge to receive a kit by visiting go.illinois.edu/GivingGarden. Program materials will be distributed the week of May 3 at the Livingston, McLean, and Woodford County Extension offices. For questions about the Giving Garden program, please contact Brittnay Haag, horticulture educator, at [email protected] or (309) 663-8306.
Let your garden make a difference—grow and give back to your community this summer.
SOURCE: Celeste Shanahan, Publicity and Promotion, University of Illinois Extension Serving Livingston, McLean, and Woodford Counties
–Brittnay Haag, University of Illinois Extension
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