Elgin school seeks $35,000 to build community garden

Garfield Elementary School in Elgin has sought to foster a sense of community throughout its 130-year history.

Garfield is among the most diverse and impoverished schools in Elgin Area School District U-46. Students live within walking distance of the school, which has been a stable part of the community for multiple generations of the same families attending there.

"They kind of watch out for each other," Principal Kyle Bunker said. "It's beautiful."

To further strengthen bonds among families, school officials are seeking to raise $35,000 to purchase nearby land for a community garden. So far, $1,180 has been raised through a GoFundMe page.

"Our first goal is creating a space for families to be connected with the school," Bunker said.

The coveted site is a vacant lot on the southeast corner of Grace and May streets across from the school. It is listed for sale for $32,000.

Community gardens are not a new concept in U-46. The district's largest vegetable garden is on the grounds of its Food & Nutrition Services facility off Bowes Road in Elgin. Employees planted the nearly 1-acre plot last June and have harvested cucumbers, peppers, basil, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes and other produce used in district schools.

Some U-46 schools have their own vegetable gardens managed by students and teachers including, Streamwood High, Kenyon Woods Middle in South Elgin, Clinton Elementary in South Elgin, Horizon Elementary in Hanover Park, and O'Neal Elementary, whose students work on a community garden on Channing Street in Elgin. Other schools - Liberty Elementary in Bartlett and Fox Meadow Elementary in South Elgin - are looking to revive garden areas planted years ago, U-46 spokeswoman Mary Fergus said.

Yet, Garfield's community garden would operate differently.

Bunker said the site could accommodate 30 to 40 4-by-8-foot plots that would be assigned to Garfield families based on a lottery.

"The plot would be theirs. They can raise whatever they want there," Bunker said. "It's strictly access that we are providing for them. When you are given something like that you are also willing to give back."

Families could grow vegetables for sustenance, and the site could be used for community-building activities such as a soup buffet, he added.

"We would want to build up some raised beds, define some walkways in between, set up rain barrels (for irrigation)," Bunker said.

Families would be responsible for maintaining their own plots as well as weeding and edging the entire garden.

Bunker is seeking donors who might have an affinity for gardening and see the value of supporting a community garden. He also plans to apply for grants to support the project.

"We've got a long way to go for the funds," he said. "We just need to tap into those donors who want to make a difference. This could be a dream that could really make a difference to 30 to 40 families."