The gardens are indispensable sources of food security for this community and provide access to fresh, healthy, culturally appropriate produce, which can be prohibitively expensive or unavailable at grocery stores. ​

Garden participants are immigrants, refugees and/or members of underserved populations. Many international gardeners grew up helping their parents and grandparents on subsistence family farms, so they value the opportunity to pass on this generational agricultural knowledge to their own children.  The ability to grow, prepare, and enjoy familiar foods contributes to a sense of belonging and continuity in their new home. The gardens are empowered communal spaces that support community food security and provide opportunities for intergenerational knowledge & practices which promote stability in a community which experiences the perpetual erosion of health and safety that is the endemic barrier presented by poverty.

Community Garden Volunteering

volunteer registration

• All garden work days are weather dependent, and volunteers will be notified the day before if weather conditions are uncertain. ​
• Volunteers must be at least 15 y/o to participate in community garden work days
• It is recommended that garden volunteers wear sturdy shoes and comfortable clothing, and bring a refillable water bottle.
• Garden volunteer activities include maintaining the compost area, weeding raised beds, cutting back overgrown areas, weed-eating, mowing, pruning fruit trees, organizing the tool shed, and other tasks determined by the community garden coordinator.

Community Garden Work Days
Community garden work days are ongoing volunteer opportunities for groups at the Americana World Community Center. For those interested in volunteering in the garden, the gardening coordinator schedules two workday opportunities per month that can be signed up for in advance using the registration tool. 

The workday will be dependent upon how many volunteers sign up for that day. The coordinator will host the workday and confirm details via email or app a week ahead of time.

Groups of approximately 5-15 volunteers are encouraged to schedule volunteer opportunities directly with the community garden coordinator by emailing abby@americanacc.org

Workdays are typically led on weekdays, with exceptions made depending on circumstances.