Shiloh Field Community Garden

Community garden in Texas

33°13′50″N 97°06′22″W / 33.230461°N 97.106235°W / 33.230461; -97.106235Area14.5 acresCreated2009FounderGene GumforyOwned byDenton Bible ChurchOperated byFriends of Shiloh GardenWebsitehttps://www.shilohfield.com/

Shiloh Field Community Garden is a community garden in Denton, Texas that grows produce for local food pantries and charities. At 14.5 acres, it is considered the largest community garden in the United States by the American Community Garden Association.^[1]

The garden was founded in 2009 by Gene Gumfory (1939–2020).^[2] The land is owned by the Denton Bible Church, but operations are funded through donations.^[3] In the first five years of operation, the garden harvested over 100,000 pounds of produce.^[4]

In 2019, the garden donated 23,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables.^[5] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the garden saw an increase in demand, and the Friends of Shiloh Garden organized ways to optimize output.^[6] As a result, in the year 2020 alone, the garden donated over 40,000 pounds of produce to local food banks and nonprofits.^[5]

References

^ Wylie, Melissa (25 January 2015). "Field of Dreams: Community garden helps people in poverty". NT Daily. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015.
^ Heinkel-Wolfe, Peggy (13 May 2020). "Businessman, gardener, humanitarian Gene Gumfory dies". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
^ "Largest community garden in U.S. feeds the hungry in Denton". Dallas News. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
^ Blakey, Katy (17 July 2017). "Denton Garden Feeds Community & Soul". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b Breeding, Lucinda (18 December 2020). "Community garden harvests record-breaking crop in a year when hunger soars". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
^ Perez, Zaira (11 August 2020). "The number of people receiving SNAP benefits was down. Then COVID-19 hit". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 20 February 2021.