Shiloh Field Community Garden Explained
| Shiloh Field Community Garden |
| Map: | Texas |
| Type: | Community garden |
| Location: | Denton, Texas |
| Coordinates: | 33.2305°N -97.1062°W |
| Area: | 14.5 acres |
| Created: | 2009 |
| Operator: | Friends of Shiloh Garden |
| Owner: | Denton Bible Church |
| Website: | https://www.shilohfield.com/ |
| Founder: | Gene Gumfory |
Shiloh Field Community Garden is a community garden in Denton, Texas that grows produce for local food pantries and charities. At 14.5 acres, it is considered the largest community garden in the United States by the American Community Garden Association.[1]
The garden was founded in 2009 by Gene Gumfory (1939–2020).[2] The land is owned by the Denton Bible Church, but operations are funded through donations.[3] In the first five years of operation, the garden harvested over 100,000 pounds of produce.[4]
In 2019, the garden donated 23,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the garden saw an increase in demand, and the Friends of Shiloh Garden organized ways to optimize output.[5] As a result, in the year 2020 alone, the garden donated over 40,000 pounds of produce to local food banks and nonprofits.[6]
Further reading
- News: Medina . Melanie . Feeding the Multitude . 21 February 2021 . Denton County Magazine . September–October 2019 . 66–72 . en.
Notes and References
- News: Wylie . Melissa . Field of Dreams: Community garden helps people in poverty . NT Daily . 25 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150125085725/https://www.ntdaily.com/field-of-dreams/ . 25 January 2015.
- News: Heinkel-Wolfe . Peggy . Businessman, gardener, humanitarian Gene Gumfory dies . 20 February 2021 . Denton Record-Chronicle . 13 May 2020 . en.
- News: Largest community garden in U.S. feeds the hungry in Denton . 20 February 2021 . Dallas News . 5 April 2014 . en.
- News: Blakey . Katy . Denton Garden Feeds Community & Soul . 20 February 2021 . NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth . 17 July 2017.
- News: Perez . Zaira . The number of people receiving SNAP benefits was down. Then COVID-19 hit. . 20 February 2021 . Denton Record-Chronicle . 11 August 2020 . en.
- News: Breeding . Lucinda . Community garden harvests record-breaking crop in a year when hunger soars . 20 February 2021 . Denton Record-Chronicle . 18 December 2020 . en.
