Community Gardens of Tucson

Our mission is to build community gardens where Tucsonans grow food, work and learn together, and nurture well-being in our communities. For more than 30 years we have served local residents, many of whom are economically disadvantaged and at risk from food insecurity and poor nutrition, by providing the space, support, inspiration, and educational resources to grow fresh nutritious food.

Community Gardens of Tucson (CGT) administers 20 gardens that are located in diverse neighborhoods across the City of Tucson. Each garden includes 20 to 30 individual plots (3 by 20 feet), all irrigated with drip lines and with equipment sheds replete with a full complement of gardening tools. Although our physical footprint is defined by the community gardens we manage, the actual geographic reach of our impact and service is much larger, defined by the individuals and families who create the communities that is core to our work.

Community Gardens of Tucson provides ongoing education that enables Tucson residents to grow food successfully and sustainably in garden communities within their neighborhoods. CGT offers two primary programs, first, is our Desert Gardening program that affords all community members - regardless of experience, age, social, economic or ethnic background - the opportunity, the encouragement, the community, and the resources to successfully garden in the desert.

Second, is our Kids in Gardens education program, which takes elementary school students, their teachers and their parents from their classrooms and into our gardens. Using science-based garden curricula, we provide hands-on classes which lets kids learn where food comes from, experience the magic of planting and growing it.

Testimonials

The following testimonials were given to us from gardeners who lost their employment due the Covid-19 pandemic and were provided CGT scholarships.

First, a young woman who was unemployed and whose husband had twice lost his job explained that…

...To shop on a budget, after meat, dairy and grains there is not much left over for fruit and veggies…Growing more frees up the budget.

Another gardener reflected on the importance of gardening with CGT by saying that…

...I have been shown how much more you can be involved in the community. If I can supplement [groceries] with produce I know is healthy and safe and nutritious, it saves mileage and the benefit of growing what you can eat makes you more mindful of what you can grow and what you can be eating. Reducing my carbon footprint and the mileage that can take [is also an important reason to garden]. We don't consider how sustainable we are. If it's not hard to grow our kale, why get it from California?

A refugee man whose wife had lost her job due to COVID-19 told us that he gardens in CGT to:..

...Learn about plants in the context of Tucson because gardening here is not like [the country he migrated from], learn what other gardeners think of plants, [and] share skills. I've learned a lot from the gardeners... I [also] get to still associate with people from Africa, Cambodia and other places [translation from Swahili, Tumaini Kamulali Mutangi]. CGT has been the place we run to escape isolation. It helped me [when my hours were cut] and my wife because she lost her job…Economically, despite COVID we needed food…we were still getting food from the community gardens.

Finally, a woman refugee who was concerned about going into the public during the pandemic said that...

...It helps me to not go in public looking for groceries. That is the benefit I gain because I go to my garden and harvest my things by myself and don't have to go public, you know. And that helps a lot because I can't get COVID when I am by myself.