Garden City Harvest (GCH) is a collaborative effort working to provide high quality produce to Missoulians in need while educating the Missoula community and University of Montana students about sustainable food systems and agriculture. We accomplish this with three vital programs: Community Gardens, GCH/EVST PEAS Farm, and Youth Harvest.

Mission

1. Provide high quality food to low-income people.
2. Offer education and training in ecologically conscious food production.
3. Use our sites for the personal restoration of troubled youth and adults.

Programs

The Garden City Harvest Project was established in 1996. We have three programs to meet our mission statement.

PEAS (Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society) Farm
GCH has a 6-½ acre farm located in the Rattlesnake Valley in Missoula; the PEAS Farm is run in partnership with the University of Montana Environmental Studies Program (EVST). Last summer the students from this class raised 23,000 pounds of food that went to feeding agencies in Missoula. The Farm and UM were the 2004 winners of the prestigious Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award. Find more information on the PEAS Farm section on the Garden City Harvest web site.

Community Gardens
GCH manages five community gardens where people can rent a plot and grow their own vegetables or opt to "Volunteer for Veggies" where for each shift they work they receive vegetables. Additionally, we work with the courts so people that must do Community Service have a place to work. Last summer GCH grew over 20,000 pounds of food to feed hungry families.

Youth Harvest
GCH works with Youth Court referrals to provide an environment and therapy for troubled youth.

The PEAS Internship

Earning Credit, While Nourishing People and the Land.
Students can work for credit on the PEAS Farm, located on 6.5 acres just two miles from the University of Montana campus. But their work earns them much more than credit hours. It is a classic internship, in that students learn by doing; yet, there are also frequent breaks in the action for demonstration and explanation. Moreover, the farm has real production obligations to emergency food shelters and to a Community Supported Agriculture program.

Students are involved in all phases of the farm, from greenhouse work in February to selling pumpkins in October. Most students report that the summer season at the PEAS Farm is the most enriching experience they have ever had. After a summer of spending 20 hours a week together working and learning on the farm, PEAS students are bonded to each other and to the place. Farm work is humble hand labor, and this kind of shared experience in a beautiful place melts the barriers that typically separate people. Students feel strongly about the importance of the work they do for the community: they grow food for low-income people, and do it in a way that respects the integrity of the land. The tangible results create a feeling of personal effectiveness many students have never before experienced. The knowledge that their efforts have made a real difference in others' lives and the rich sense of community they experience often sets students on a new path. Many change their goals, and alter the course of their lives.

Learn more about the PEAS Internship.

Staff

Josh Slotnick, GCH/ EVST PEAS Farm Director
Tim Hall, Community Garden Director
Tim Ballard, Youth Harvest Director
Greg Price, Garden Organizer at River Road
Joellen Shannon, Development Director
Beth Neeley, Community Education Program Coordinator

Board of Directors

President - Aaron Brock
Vice President - Lou Ann Crowley
Past President - Mark Phares
Secretary - Crissie McMullan
Treasurer - Karen Neel

Alex Gallego, Rachel Gooen, Amy Dolan, Kay Duffield, Martha Newell, and John Webb.

History

Over 90% of the produce we eat in Montana is shipped in from out of state. Yet in the early part of this century, Missoula earned the title "The Garden City" by producing fruits and vegetables for much of the surrounding region.

The partners in the Garden City Harvest project believe that we need to revive our regional tradition of producing our own food for our community, including the 20% of Missoulians who live in poverty.

Since receiving a USDA Community Food Project grant in 1996, Garden City Harvest has been planting the seeds for a diverse and fruitful community effort. Staff and volunteers have developed a 6-½ acre Community Supported Agriculture teaching Farm and a network of Neighborhood community gardens.

In our first season we produced over 57,000 pounds of fresh vegetables, and distributed most of the food through local emergency food agencies. In our second season, we grew and gleaned over 60,000 pounds of food. In our third season, we grew and gleaned over 74,000 pounds of food. Each season we have been able to increase the number of feeding agencies we contribute food to.

Awards/Recognition

GCH EVST/PEAS Farm wins the 2004 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award

This award is given to a non-profit and university partnership. GCH and the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana work to provide food for the needy and education in ecological education to UM PEAS students.