The Magic Garden Project was inspired by members of the congregation of the Joseph United Methodist Church and is the first school/community garden project in Wallowa County. The partnership with Joseph Charter School started in 2010 with Superintendent Rhonda Shirley offering the use of the school greenhouse and mostly unused deer-fenced garden area for the purpose of growing fresh vegetables wit
h the students. An initial grant to reduce childhood obsesity in the community was written by garden coordinator, Robin Martin. An award of $1250 was used to refurbish the greenhouse; new roofing was installed and a propane heater was purchased. Church member, Janie Tippett, offered the use of approximately 1/2 acre of her property in Imnaha where additional crops requiring a longer growing season could be produced. A second grant to deer fence this property and provide tools and supplies for both gardens was awarded by The Bishop’s Initiative to Eliminate Hunger (United Methodist Church). Joseph Hardware owner, James Johnson, has donated seeds for the garden for each growing season and many local businesses have donated time and/or materials to bring sustainability to the project. The school students K-6th grades have planted seeds and “starts” for the gardens. Many county volunteers help to prepare soil, plant, w**d, and harvest . The faith communities have prepped and delivered the fresh produce for the school salad bars. The 2012 season brought major project expansion and deliveries of fresh produce were made to all three Wallowa County school districts, the Headstart program, Community Connections, and the Wallowa County Food Bank. The project maintained its presence at the Joseph Farmer’s Market and the Healthy Foods Kiosk at the local convenience store (fresh produce by donation), and expanded to include a Neighbors in Need program where fresh produce was delivered to the homebound. Members of the Joseph United Methodist Church adopted fruit trees during the 2012 growing season and the community looks forward to fresh fruit. Slow Food Wallowas earned $2,000. to benefit the Magic Garden at their Pig-Nic fundraiser. A new grant has just been awarded by the Bishop’s Initiative to Eliminate Hunger to fence an additional 100′ by 100′ garden in Imnaha. Our faithful volunteers hope to deliver even more than the approximately 3 tons of food we produced during the 2012 season.
