Waubonsee students grow fresh produce for campus food pantry

Something special is growing at Waubonsee Community College and students are making sure the harvest benefits their fellow students.

In the designated Student Community Garden on the Sugar Grove campus, students are growing tomatoes, peppers, squash and a variety of other fresh vegetables and herbs. The garden features raised beds and is open for tending each day from 7 a.m. to dusk.

The Student Community Garden provides hands-on opportunities for students to learn about gardening and sustainability, while working together and giving back to their campus community.

Members of Waubonsee’s Student Community Garden Organization plant, water and maintain the garden throughout the growing season, following garden guidelines that prohibit fertilizers containing pesticides.

Now, their harvest is helping fellow students.

Fresh produce from the garden is being donated to The GROVE Student Food Pantry, supporting Waubonsee’s efforts to help students access nutritious food and other essential resources.

The new focus creates a meaningful cycle of service: students grow it, students give it and students benefit from it.

Newly opened this month, The GROVE — Gathering Resources and Offering Vital Essentials — is Waubonsee’s Student Food Pantry, created with a goal of addressing food insecurity and helping students access food and other essential resources. The garden-to-GROVE partnership adds fresh, student-grown produce to that effort.

Waubonsee will celebrate The GROVE with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Student Center on the Sugar Grove campus, Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive.

Students from the Student Community Garden Organization will be recognized during the ceremony for their efforts.

The celebration comes during Hunger Action Month, a national observance each September that raises awareness about hunger and food insecurity.