CKGU Learns to Grow

Emily Paulson, coordinator of the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. came to the kitchen with hopes of tilling a community garden, but she soon realized the resources weren’t there yet.

"Gleaning was a nice way to collect produce for our kitchen without having the knowledge or resources to plant a garden," said Paulson.

Two years later, the pieces came together.

Harlow Hotrum, a former farmer, donated a 100-foot long greenhouse on his farming community with the promise of renovations. He also gave Paulson the gift of hydration, rigging his well water to the greenhouse irrigation system.

Two blocks away, St. Margaret's Shelter, a long-standing a community partner of the Campus Kitchen, keeps a community garden that occupants tend for selling produce at the farmer's market, which helps fund programs. The shelter and its master gardener offered their gardening expertise to help the Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University learn to grow.

What do students and Paulson plan to grow once the repair work is done, and they secure donations of seeds? Paulson says hopefully, by summer 2010, they'll be sowing seeds for potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and maybe green beans.

"It's kind of cool because it's pulling in different types of students for us," said Paulson. "Spokane is a little bit behind the times on community gardening. We are getting students that haven't been involved with the campus kitchen before that say, 'Hey, I'm interested in this [gardening].'"

The only requirement on Paulson's end is that she keeps the produce she grows organic to help protect Mr. Hotrum's land.

While Paulson holds high hopes for the project, she says there's a lot to consider when planting a garden, including developing a plan for heating and cooling systems. She's already met with the engineering department about working with students for creative solutions. Paulson said she even considered a suggestion of keeping 30 chickens in the greenhouse. Their body heat would help warm the building.

"The best case scenario, we not only feed the community through this garden, but we produce enough to sell produce at farmers markets, fund the campus kitchen, and give food away to other organizations," said Paulson.