KCU Community Garden

The KCU Community Garden began in 2008 as a joint project between Score 1 for Health and the KCU Pediatrics Club. By 2011, the small garden plot on the Kansas City campus had expanded into a 2,000-square-foot garden with 20 raised beds. In 2016, fruit trees were planted in honor of the University’s Centennial.

Planted, cultivated and harvested by volunteer students, faculty and staff, the garden beds operate throughout three planting seasons beginning in March and continuing through October.

Produce variety is expansive and includes tomatoes, peppers, kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, fresh herbs, cantaloupe, pears. Each week, a 30-pound average of the garden yield is donated to KCU campus neighbor Della Lamb Community Services to help stock its food pantry.

The KCU Community Garden provides an excellent extra-curricular activity for KCU’s campus community. More than 70 students volunteered during the 2021 growing season. During the 2022 planting/harvest season, volunteers logged more than 400 hours.

Donations to Della Lamb Community Center are testimony to the impact of the KCU mission of improving the well-being of the communities we serve.

Who Manages the KCU Community Garden?

Sherri Howell, DO, Anastasia Underwood, and Savannah Hallin serve as coordinators for the Community Garden. All are excited to get their fingernails dirty and continue the tradition of service with our KCU community. David Dean, Jacob Wessling, and David Ting serve as the Community Garden’s student leaders.