The Tray it Forward Program began in 2020 as a collaborative way to build community, share gardening education, and grow more food. This was really in response to the COVID pandemic and the struggles we were facing as a community, like difficulty accessing food and strained supply chains.
We’ve learned since then that this program is impactful for more than just getting through a crisis - it is foundational for building connections in community centered on reclaiming the knowledge and joy of growing our own food!
In its fourth year now, Tray it Forward distributed 400 seedling trays totaling 8000 plants to individuals, organizations like local health centers and food pantries, and community garden sites like the Main Street Garden at Colby-Sawyer College.
Community members supported the program through donations to Spring Ledge Farm, where the seedlings were grown and each donation was matched plant for plant by Spring Ledge. Local businesses donated supplies that folks could use to get their gardens going. Dozens of volunteers coordinated by Kearsarge Neighborhood Partners joined together to bring this program to life, from outreach to participants to delivering the trays directly to homes.
In response to community feedback, the 4th Annual Tray it Forward program is focusing more energy on container gardens for homes that don’t have access to land, which is a common barrier to gardening. Generous donations of potting soil and containers were gifted to program participants alongside their seedling trays to provide a solid foundation for growing food in containers.
While one main goal of Tray it Forward is to reach more first time gardeners, many folks receiving trays are in their third or fourth year gardening thanks to this program. We’re really starting to pick up speed in growing are collective knowledge of producing nutritious, delicious vegetables from home gardens. More than that, folks are feeling the shared joy and wellbeing of getting outside, putting our hands in the soil, and feeling supported and cared for by one another.
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”
— Alfred Austin, poet
To help folks on their journey, we created the Victory Garden Toolkit, which is a wide-ranging collection of gardening resources, from how to start the garden to weekly newsletters that dig into common issues and processes you might find in the garden throughout the season - from planting to harvest!
We’re looking forward to providing educational videos straight from the garden this year to help folks have a successful growing season. We’re also excited to check in with our gardeners to see how things are growing. Stay tuned!
Check out the video recap from the 4th Annual Tray Delivery Day!
