Macomb's Gift Garden

By - Emma Rauschert, University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalist

L-R: Penny Lawyer, Saralee Moore, Sue Marshall, Letha Clark - University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener Volunteers at the Macomb Gift Garden.

The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener volunteers run and maintain a Gift Garden, which provides fresh produce to community food pantries during the summer. The Gift Garden is located at the McDonough County Extension of the University of Illinois at 3022 W. Jackson St., Macomb, IL 61455. The garden began in 2015 with an idea from Letha Clark, Penny Lawyer, and Bobbi Morrison. These ladies and others started working on the garden in the spring of 2017. Several Master Gardeners work to maintain the garden: Bobbi Morrison, Kerri Trost, Claudia Scott, Eun Stidd, Evie Reusch, JoAnn Harriston-Jones, Kathy Veroni, Letha Clark, Penny Lawyer, Sarahlee Moore, Sue Marshall, Susan Moore, Tracy VanBrooker, and University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator Chris Enroth. 

The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners volunteers aim to donate a ton (2,000 lbs.) of produce to those in need every year. Last year, they exceeded that goal by donating 2,038 pounds of food. This year, the garden has tomatoes, peppers, green beans, lettuce, turnips, garlic, zucchini, beets, and winter squash growing. Letha says, “We plant what people will use. We grow a lot of tomatoes. The Juliet tomatoes are very popular.” On Tuesdays, the produce is donated to the Good Food Pantry in Macomb, and on Fridays, when they harvest, it goes to the Salvation Army. 

The garden is relatively small to produce such an abundance. In just 700 square feet, they grow a lot of produce. The garden is located on a torn-down homesite that started as a thick layer of gravel. The gardeners added more gravel, built 20 raised beds, and installed drip irrigation. When they started the garden, they received funding from the McDonough Power Operation Round-Up Grant, VIBE, and the Fellheimer Trust of Wesley United Methodist Church. After 8 years of production, Letha reflected, “I never realized I would be passionate about this. But it’s a big deal. When you realize how many people go without food, it makes this work critical.” 

Interested in becoming a University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener? Visit the https://extension.illinois.edu/hkmw/master-gardeners website.