The Community Garden Coalition (CGC) of Columbia and Boone County, Missouri is a not-for-profit volunteer group that provides support, supplies, and garden plots to community gardeners, seeking especially to help lower-income individuals, the elderly, people with disabilities, children, and others who might not be able to have a garden on their own.

It’s our belief that the opportunity to garden helps people stretch their food dollar and improve their nutritional intake. Community gardens also improve the overall quality of life in neighborhoods by encouraging self-sufficiency and a sense of community among participants. The city benefits from the work of these gardeners through the transformation of vacant lots into beautiful gardens that become centers of community activity.

The Gardeners

Community gardeners come from all walks of life and live throughout the city. Many cannot have a garden at home or lack the resources to garden on their own. Gardeners maintain individual plots within the gardens and also help with the organization and maintenance at the garden where they participate.

Many gardeners have very low incomes and yet, despite this, hundreds of pounds of extra food is donated to local food pantries and soup kitchens each year.

Funding and Volunteer Support

In the spirit of the “victory gardens” of WWII, the CGC was formed in 1983 to help lower-income families meet their nutrition needs. Through volunteer efforts and private funding, thousands of individuals have experienced the CGC’s goals of gardening at one of our gardens within their neighborhoods. Volunteer support and community action is essential to the CGC’s broad outreach. Time, effort, materials and money are always welcome!

Our all-volunteer board raises money for our efforts by taking part in fundraising campaigns like CoMoGives and pursuing various grants. Many community gardeners also give what they can afford to support their gardens every year.