Community involvement is important to us at Red Wagon Plants and we think everyone should have access to healthy food and gardening know-how. In order to help others grow food for themselves, we partner with many different organizations to donate plants, host events and fundraisers and promote gardening education. Below, you can read about some of the community partners we work with. Please consider attending one of our community partnership events this year, or consider volunteering your time to one of the organizations below!
The Vermont Community Garden Network (VCGN) works to support and grow the state’s vibrant network of community and school gardens. This mission is achieved by growing gardens, gardeners, and garden leaders. Every year, Red Wagon Plants hosts a Sweet Potato Slip Sale. All proceeds from the sale go directly to VCGN. Red Wagon also donates plants to different educational programs run by VCGN. In 2015, Red Wagon donated thousands of plants through VCGN to the Burlington Emergency Food Shelf.
Every year, Red Wagon Plants and Burlington Parks and Recreation work together to host a fundraising plant sale in Burlington's New North End. Proceeds from the sale go to the Burlington Area Community Gardens scholarship fund to insure that anyone in the city can have access to a community garden plot.
New Farms for New Americans (NFNA), a project of the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV Inc.) works to help refugees and immigrants continue to practice their agrarian traditions through the production of culturally significant crops. Red Wagon partners with NFNA by donating many plants to these farmers and gardeners in order to help subsidize the cost of farming.
Intervale Center’s mission is to strengthen community food systems through: new farm incubation, farm business development, agricultural market development, agricultural land stewardship, food systems research and consulting, and the celebration of food and farmers. Red Wagon partners with the Intervale Center to donate plants for fundraisers, events, and landscaping. Red Wagon Plants was born down at the Intervale, so we have always and will continue to have a strong relationship with the Intervale Center.
The Visiting Nurse Association cares for individuals and families through health and related services in homes and other community settings.The VNA Family Room has maintained a garden program at Ethan Allen Homestead for parents and young children since 1999. Red Wagon Plants donates plants every year to help support the growth and bounty of the VNA Family Room Garden and its participants.
Red Wagon Plants also partners with many schools in the surrounding area to help grow school gardens. These are some of the schools we support: Shelburne Community School, Hinesburg Elementary, South Burlington School District, and Addison County North Supervisory District. We also help to support non-profit organizations with fundraising and donations. Some of these organizations include: CVOEO, the Dismas House, Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, The Pride Center of VT, VT ReLief Collectivet, Outright VT, he Burlington Emergency Food Shelf and the Hinesburg Emergency Food Shelf.