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About
the Harvest for the Hungry Garden
The Harvest for the Hungry
Garden was founded in 1987 by Muchtar
Salzmann, owner
of Emerisa Gardens, and Marge Cerleti. They established the Harvest Garden to grow food for the hungry. Christ Church United
Methodist generously loaned the use
of a 3/4 acre parcel of land behind their church to help feed low income residents
of Sonoma County.
Currently the Harvest Garden
donates approximately 10,000 lbs
of organically grown produce to 5 different food programs.
By 1996 Geoff Rauch and Lyn Howe had taken over for Marge
and Muchtar. They initiated a new program for the garden. In addition
to growing organic produce, Lyn and Geoff added wildlife
habitat areas, a drip irrigation system, and initiated new gardening
practices such as the use of green manures (cover crops) and
biodynamic compost. In 2001 they designed our Backyard
Demonstration Garden that includes water-wise plants, fruit
trees, raised beds, a small pond, a rose arbor, herbs, and many California natives.
In 1998 the Garden received a grant from the Community
Foundation Sonoma County to install the Wildlife
Habitat Garden. In 1999, with a second grant from the
Community Foundation, a neighborhood habitat workshop, led by Lyn Howe, was held
to educate the Garden's residential neighbors in the art and
value of fostering wildlife habitat in their own backyards. One hundred
people attended.
With the help of many volunteers, the Garden continues to
thrive. Classes and workshops are held each spring, summer, and fall. Our annual Spring Plant Sale is a regular community event and contributes
substantially to the financial support of the Garden. Come join us!
The
Harvest Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
This
website was designed and authored by Fawn Moran. Photos were taken by Lyn
Howe, Martin Cibulka, Fawn Moran, and other Garden volunteers. Many are
Corel copyright-free photographs.
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