Growing a garden for the community

The Baker County Fair Board is offering everyone a chance to grow fresh vegetables this summer by breaking ground on a community garden.

The project is a partnership between the Fair Board and Oregon Rural Action. The garden plot will be located just north of the rodeo grounds, off Grove Street.

Anyone interested in learning more is encouraged to attend a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Fair Board meeting room at the Community Event Center, 2600 East St.

Organizers are hoping the garden will provide space for families or individuals who don’t have the room at home, and also for members of groups such as 4-H, FFA and Scouts who want to grow produce for the local food banks.

The ground will be worked to create raised beds that will be rented to gardeners.

“There’s some decent soil there, but it needs some help,” said Jimmy Roberts, Master Gardener coordinator.

The fee and other garden guidelines will be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.

“It’s just better,” he said.

This garden — and the opportunity to grow produce for the food banks — is patterned after similar projects in La Grande and Ontario.

According to a Fair Board press release, the La Grande Community Garden, located near Eastern Oregon University, accommodated 14 low-income families. They paid a nominal fee for the plot, water, and seed and had access to help and classes by Union County Master Gardeners.

In Ontario, the Four Rivers Community Garden grew more than 300 pounds of food for the local food pantry and also fed the garden volunteers.

Nella Parks of Oregon Rural Action said community gardens are different in every town.

“Every community garden is specific to the site and community,” she said. “The main idea is to help people become more self-sufficient and to build community.”

She said Baker already has a solid background to support this type of project.

“They already have a culture of agriculture, gardening and food production,” she said.

The plan for the next several months is to recruit gardeners for the Baker plot, as well as donations of money, tools and soil.

For more information, call Colleen Taylor, Baker County Fairgrounds manager, at 541-523-7881, or Nella Parks at 541-975-2411.