Lewisburg Community Garden
Growing Healthy Futures
***News Update: The Lewisburg Community Garden was awarded a blue ribbon in the “Combination Community Garden (Vegetables and Flowers) category of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s annual “Gardening and Greening” competition. Lewisburg Mayor Judy Wagner issued an official proclamation, declaring December 4th to be known as “Community Garden Day” in recognition of the Lewisburg Community Garden’s contributions to food security and environmental sustainability***
The Lewisburg Community Garden is a joint project between Bucknell University and the Borough of Lewisburg. Through the generosity of the Borough, the Garden utilizes the parcel of land located at the intersection of North Water Street and St. Anthony Street (map) to offer community rental plots, to cultivate organic produce for donation to local food access programs, and to provide educational opportunities. In 2017, approximately 3,800 pounds of produce was harvested for hot meal programs and food banks.
Our growing goals
The mission of the Lewisburg Community Garden is to address food insecurity in our region by providing access to suitable growing space and by cultivating produce for donation to local food security programs. We strive to provide educational support to assist individuals, families, and groups wishing to grow their own food in a sustainable manner, and to encourage everyone to serve as environmental stewards. Our goals include:
- Increasing access to fresh, healthy, low-cost, locally grown food.
- Educating students and community members about home gardening benefits and techniques.
- Enhancing awareness of food insecurity and the need for nutritious options.
- Creating cooperative, multi-generational learning opportunities between the campus and local community.
The Lewisburg Community Garden features individual plots for groups, families or individuals interested in gardening. In addition, a larger area managed by university and community volunteers provides produce distributed to local hot meal programs (including the Bucknell-run Community Harvest weekly meal) and other food access programs in the hopes of increasing access to healthy food options and lowering their operating costs.
Help the Community Garden thrive with a gift today.
The Lewisburg Community Garden thrives because of the generosity of sponsors, donors, and volunteers. While we do not have the space to mention everyone by name, we’d like to offer special thanks to the following contributors:
- Lewisburg Community Garden Advisory Board
- Borough of Lewisburg
- Bucknell President John Bravman
- Dr. Mark Spiro, Faculty-in-Residence
- John Testa, Jeff Rishel, Dennis Hawley, Pete Bergonia, Mike Hackenberg – Bucknell Facilities
- Wanda Boop, Bucknell Greenhouse Caretaker
- Jack Schroeder and Dr. Elizabeth Capaldi – Beehive Project
- Bucknell Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Dr. Philip Asare)
- Boy Scout Troop 538
- Thomas Lantz, Eagle Scout Pathway Installation
- Henry Harrison, Eagle Scout Fencing Upgrade
- Spring 2015 Bucknell Management 101 Company D, Fence Installation
- Bucknell Grand Challenge Scholars Program Irrigation System Installation (Dr. Mike
- Toole and and Scholar Chau Le)
- Meadowbrook Christian School
- High Mowing Seeds
- Cole’s Hardware
- Lewisburg Builders Supply
- Lewisburg Area Joint Sewer Authority
- Preston Boop, Briarpatch Organic Farms
- Renee’s Garden
- Former Food Access Coordinators Kevin Zuidervliet, Matthew Varner, and Scarlett Littman
- Pennsylvania Campus Compact
- CORE Susquehanna
- Bucknell University Office of Civic Engagement
- Anyone that has rented a plot, volunteered in the Garden, attended a fundraising or educational event, or donated time, funds, or materials throughout seven wonderful seasons!