Summit Community Gardens and EATS

GATHER.  LEARN.  GROW.

Summit Community Gardens and EATS merged this spring!  Better together, we envision an inclusive growing community focused on learning, connection, nutrition, and stewardship for current and future generations.  With our combined strength, we see even more opportunities to create a positive impact on our community, and we have greater potential to take action. Our merger enables us to expand our existing programs and create new ones in our schools, gardens, and community.

Community Gardens: We care for a 1 ½ acre community garden, located across from Matt Knoop Park.  It is home to 134 community garden plots, perennial demonstration beds, vegetable demonstration beds, a beehive, a children’s outdoor activity center, and an orchard with 13 apple and 2 cherry trees. We gather, learn, and grow from this central garden hub. 

Edible Education: Our programming consists of seed-to-table education. We teach gardening in our outdoor classroom and Kids' Garden beds, and we follow the food we grow into nutrition and cooking skills classes. These incredible STEM-based programs offer essential life skills,  give nutritional knowledge to participants, and offer opportunities for art, exercise, and socializing in (mostly) outdoor settings. We hosted over 1,500 children: pre-K, elementary, middle school, and high school students in our garden camps, after-school programs, field trips, in-school programs, and service learning opportunities last year. 

Food Farmacy: In partnership with The People’s Health Clinic (PHC) and the Christian Center of Park City (CCPC), we launched a Food Farmacy. Prescriptions for fresh produce are provided to PHC patients who will medically benefit from eating more nutritious meals. We provide fresh, organic produce grown in our demonstration gardens to fill the prescriptions, which are distributed by CCPC in their mobile pantries.

Sustainability: We introduce ideas and behaviors to current and future generations that can affect positive change for the environment. Projects encourage forming habits such as composting, diverting food waste at schools, regenerative agriculture, and mindful dietary modifications that collectively reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the impact on the planet. 

La Milpa: Together with Artes de México en Utah, we involve students and families in learning about the cultural legacy of our native foods. Planting and Harvests create social and cultural connections based on the traditional concept of the “Milpa,” a unique planting ecosystem that not only nourishes the land, but also the culture and the identity of the people that grow it. School and community gardens are the venues where we encompass culturally celebratory workshops to acknowledge our land, our Indigenous people, and their ancestral living practices.

Empowered Food Security: We strive for a healthier generation by providing nutrient-dense, minimally processed, deliciously prepared snacks and meals to children and their families. One project, Fruit to Schools, is a new initiative that provides fresh produce to qualifying children during the school day- when focus and sustained energy are critical to learning. In addition to addressing food security, the program provides empowering nutrition education and community support to families.

School Greenhouses: We support two school greenhouses, various raised beds, and two Tower Gardens to teach kids the full food cycle. Garden-based nutrition education also improves fruit and vegetable consumption for students, as they are more likely to try foods that they have grown and prepared. School gardens create opportunities for project-based and place-based learning. 

Dinners in the Garden: As part of our “Gather” mission, we invite you to enjoy the beautiful community gardens as we connect with local businesses and chefs to provide the unique experience of picnicking at the base of the mountains while listening to music and enjoying time with your loved ones.

Aerial View of Community GardensPumpkin CompostingFruit to SchoolsDinner in the GardenLa MilpaFood Farmacy BountyParley's Park Greenhouse and BedsCurious Cooks with Ms. Brightie