At The Farm Connection, our mission has always been rooted in growing community. While our plant starts, seeds, and soil amendments help home gardeners and homesteaders thrive, we’re also committed to supporting the wider network of growers in our region—including local schools, community gardens, and public spaces.
This season, we had the joy of donating hundreds of plant starts and seeds to several Madison County, NC community gardens that feed, teach, and beautify. Some of these gardens with a purpose are:
Hot Springs Elementary School Garden Tucked into the heart of Hot Springs, this school garden isn’t just for students. This outdoor classroom allows students from K-5 to dig into hands-on lessons about food, nutrition, and the environment. The school also hosts bi-weekly Gather and Garden Days, where community members of all ages are invited to help with seasonal tasks like mulching, weeding, and planting. These events offer a chance to connect, share knowledge, and promote organic growing practices. All of the food grown is shared with students, families, and staff or donated to local food distribution centers. It also provides fresh produce that makes its way into school lunches and is sometimes shared with families, bridging the gap between education and food access in our rural region.
The Center Community Center The Center in Marshall, NC is more than a community center—it’s a hub for learning, connection, and mutual aid. Their community garden provides fresh produce for shared meals, food boxes, and teaching programs that empower locals to grow their own. Our donations have included flowering hanging baskets, a mix of vegetable starts, and pollinator-friendly herbs to support both nutrition and biodiversity.
Woodson Branch Nature School Woodson Branch is a K-8 nature-based charter school that integrates farming, forestry, and the arts into a rich academic experience. Located just outside Hot Springs on 30 regenerative acres, the school uses its on-site farm and garden as a living classroom. Here, students plant, tend, and harvest crops used in school meals, fundraisers, and community food shares. They also care for animals, maintain trails, and learn environmental science in an immersive way. Our plant donations help bolster their seasonal crop offerings, feeding both bodies and minds.
Downtown Marshall
After flooding from Tropical Storm Helene damaged parts of downtown Marshall and the community came together to clean up, restore, and replant what was lost. We were thankful to support the effort by donating flowering annuals, and native perennial pollinator plants to Downtown that will continue to bloom year after year. We hope that these additions aren’t just pretty, they support native wildlife and provide joy to everyone who strolls downtown.
Eliada Homes Eliada is a long-standing nonprofit organization in Asheville that serves children and youth through education, therapeutic services, and housing. Their on-campus farm and garden program is a vital part of that care—teaching life skills, building confidence, and providing fresh produce for their cafeteria and food programs. We were proud to contribute vegetable starts and herbs to help kick off their summer growing season. These plants support not just nutrition, but connection—to the land, to learning, and to healing.
Grace Covenant Community Garden (Merrimon Ave) Grace Covenant's Community Garden is a quiet powerhouse of abundance and generosity. The garden grows produce for local food relief organizations, including BeLoved Asheville and the Southside Kitchen, while also serving as a gathering space for spiritual and ecological education. With the help of volunteers, the garden team weaves food justice, faith, and community into every growing season. Our donations of pollinator plants, herbs, and warm-season veggies are helping to nourish that mission—one garden bed at a time.
As growers, we believe that giving back is just part of good land stewardship. Whether it’s a school garden or a sidewalk planter, each green space we nurture contributes to a healthier, more resilient community, and ecosystem. We’re grateful to play a small role in the good work happening across Madison County, and we can’t wait to see these gardens grow.
Want to support these gardens or similar gardens in your community? Reach out directly to your local schools or community centers to ask how you can contribute—whether that’s with time, tools, seeds, or funds. Learn more about these amazing programs in the links provided above. Every bit helps grow more food, feed more neighbors, and teach the next generation.
We’re proud to be part of this rooted, resilient community. Thank you for growing it with us.