The Medtronic Foundation Community Garden at Augsburg University in Minneapolis was founded in 2007 and is often called the Food-to-Grow Garden. It’s located on the corner of 20^th Avenue and Seventh Street near the Augsburg campus.

Through a partnership between Augsburg and M Health Fairview, about 75 gardeners in the Cedar/Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis collaborate to grow mostly edibles on individual plots. They’ve also cultivated a pollinator garden and have started a bed of edible perennials to share. Gardeners come from Minnesota, Ethiopia, Somalia, Vietnam and Mexico. They share their skills and experience with many others who are just learning how to garden. The garden has four main goals:

• to provide a space for the community to come and learn together,
• to beautify the neighborhood and campus,
• to provide growing space for those without it, and
• to help neighbors access fresh, healthy food.

The community garden also generates 100 pounds of produce that is donated to Augsburg’s Campus Cupboard each season.

In 2021, MSHS received a Minneapolis Foundation grant to work with the community garden and bring local gardeners together. Together, we provide access to urban agricultural education and resources to build sustainable neighborhood food systems.

For more information, email garden@augsburg.edu, visit Augsburg’s community garden web page. Or follow @sustainable_augsburgu on Instagram.

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