On a beautiful autumn day, on a former vacant lot, the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) honored the Historic Manheim Park Community Garden as the 9,000th Missouri Community Garden to accept its “10,000 Garden Challenge.” [img_assist|nid=764|title=|desc=|link=node|align=right|width=320|height=213]This program, sponsored by the MDA, encourages communities to organize and start gardening.
“This is a really wonderful garden, and an excellent example of the emphasis the Kansas City area has put into community gardening,” said Dr. Jon Hagler, Director of the MDA. “The last two gift certificate winners in the 10,000 garden challenge have been part of community gardens and it has been outstanding to see everyone working alongside their neighbors and to hear our gardeners’ stories – especially those in the urban areas who have shown such creativity and initiative in bringing their communities together.”
The Challenge guidelines stipulate that every time 1,000 gardens register on the MDA website, a drawing is held to determine the winner of a $500 gift certificate from Tractor Supply. “We really appreciate the $500 prize,” stated Augusta Wilbon of Neighborhood Housing Services. “NHS has provided the land for the garden for over 15 years, and helps pay some of the expenses, but we already know that we will be spending this $500 for seeds, fertilizer and new plants in the spring.”
Gardeners interested in registering their gardens for the 10,000 Garden Challenge can do so by visiting www.AgriMissouri.com.