Community Hearth
Every Bed
Has a Name.
Vacant lots turned living pantries. Raised beds of collard greens, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, and volunteer-planted herb spirals — feeding the blocks grocery stores forgot.
This Garden Is
Infrastructure.
Not decoration. Not a hobby. A supply chain for neighbors whose nearest grocery store is three bus rides away.
of produce donated to the food bank last July
Collard greens, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs
raised beds planted across 6 vacant lots
Across the Eastside and Millbrook neighborhoods
volunteer shifts filled this growing season
Neighbors, students, business teams
families receive a weekly harvest share
At no cost, every Saturday morning
Updated weekly — last harvest counted Feb 18, 2026
"The soil doesn't know your zip code. It just knows what you put in."— Ms. Delores Williams, Bed 7
A Garden Is
Someone's Story.
Claudette's Bed 12 — the collards are at peak height, three weeks from harvest.
Fig. 01Claudette Okafor
Bed 12 — Millbrook Lot
Gardening with us since 2021
Claudette retired from thirty years of nursing and started showing up on Saturdays to "just look around." Three weeks later, she had her own bed. Now she grows the best collards in the program and trains every new volunteer.
"I grew up in a house with a garden. My grandchildren don't. This is how I fix that."
"I tell the new volunteers: water in the morning. Let the soil breathe at night."
Last July's haul from Bed 12 alone: 68 lbs. Donated every pound.
Fig. 03Sponsor a Bed.
Feed a Block.
Every tier maps to a specific plot in a specific neighborhood. You'll receive a postcard with your bed's name and coordinates — and a photo of the first harvest.
Tier 1
A Seed Packet
Funds one packet of heirloom seeds — enough Cherokee Purple tomatoes to fill a bed.
Tier 2
A Raised Bed
Sponsors one 4×8 raised bed for a full growing season — soil, seeds, and setup.
Tier 3
A Full Season
Sponsors an entire growing season for one bed — water, maintenance, harvest coordination, and donation delivery.
// Confirm Your Gift
$75— A Raised Bed
The Garden in
February.
Last updated Feb 24, 2026. Harvest volunteers needed Saturdays 8–11am.
// 2026 Planting Calendar
▲ Current month highlighted. Bars show approximate growing & harvest windows for our Chicago climate.
Sign Up
to Dig.
No experience needed. Show up at 8am with gloves. We'll have coffee, tools, and someone who knows what they're doing. You'll leave with dirt under your fingernails and vegetables in your hands.