Growing Resilience on the West Side (GROWS) is a coalition between organizations and individuals on the West Side that are working on food justice.  Access to healthy food is not equally distributed in our neighborhood or city, and removing some of those barriers by growing food locally also results in increased community connection and resilience in the face of climate change. 

If you’d like to get involved in growing food on the West Side, we’ve got several communal gardens you can participate in. these are different from community gardens (which often mean that individuals have their own plots and others are meant to keep out).  In communal gardens, anyone can help us work the land, and anyone can take food that wants or needs it.  We’re working on a map that will be published soon, and will have some community meals, wisdom-sharing sessions, and a Fall Harvest Festival upcoming. Stay tuned!

Coalition partners include WSCO, Youth Farm, the West Side Farmers Market, the Seed Library, Humboldt and OWL, West Side Free Farm Stand Network, and many dedicated community members!

Capitol Hill View Park Community Orchard & Garden

West Siders just created our own community orchard and garden, which will grow free food for anyone in the neighborhood! Join us every Thursday at 6:00pm to care for Capitol Hill View Park, at the top of the High Bridge. Check out the garden page here!

The Garden of Good Hearts

Summer 2023 update: The Garden of Good Hearts (by Wabasha Brewing) will have folks tending it on Monday July 24, & 31 from 10am-12pm and Tuesday July 11th & 18th from 6-8pm. Please join us in helping make our neighborhood more beautiful, and learn about the new medicinal and culinary herbs we planted there!

Free Farm Stand

Stop by Parque Castillo every Sunday from 3:00pm - 5:00pm (August - October) to pick up free produce from neighborhood gardens, or drop off some veggies for others to enjoy!