The Brownwood Community Garden is seeking volunteers to help out with the operations conducted at the site. The Brownwood Community Garden is a “very viable part of our community,” said Debbie Morelock. “We have a lot of homeless people that eat over here. We have a lot of people that go to Good Samaritan. Canned goods kind of gets old after a while and we can give them some good fresh produce.”

The produce in the garden includes peppers, tomatoes, onions, beans, squash, strawberries, plums, pears, peaches, blackberries peas, asparagus, etc. They also have a monarch butterfly area to help pollinate. 

The community garden is open all year round and they are always open to donations. Mid-summer is usually the busiest which is the harvest season and there’s so much produce that has to be pulled that will then go out to Good Samaritan and the Salvation Army, feeding lots of the homeless and those less fortunate in the Brownwood area. “Everything we raise [in the community beds], which can be anywhere from 7 to 10 thousand pounds of produce a year, goes to Salvation Army and Good Samaritan, so all the food is given away,” said Morelock.

The hours can be up to the volunteers for how much they want to work and it is a great place to be outdoors, grow your green thumb, and serve your local community while becoming part of one. “We are always encouraging people to come out and volunteer,” said Morelock. “So if someone would like to come and volunteer, they can come for an hour a week; they can come for 10 hours a week and do whatever.”

They find jobs appropriate for each volunteer that comes. “We do try to foster a sense of community with all of our gardeners that come in,” said Jan Green who is on the board of the Brownwood Community Garden and manages the daily operations. There are jobs for many people of all ages and all skills. They have jobs all the way from constructing new beds, carrying materials, and helping uproot some of the taller and thicker plants, to helping to prune the orchard, harvest produce, helping with the compost, and re-mulching. 

There are many jobs available for volunteers, and the increasing number of help Brownwood Community Garden gets allows them to pursue other ventures they would like to dive into. “A goal for us eventually, if we had enough volunteers, is I would love to personally teach some little gardening classes on how to do a little raised bed or how to produce something at home,” said Morelock.

Aside from the community garden beds, there are other beds for rent that are $25 a year from March 1st to the end of February. With organic soil and irrigation system already established, this gives people an opportunity to come a grow their own food. Right now, there are no beds available, but there is a waiting list. They have some new beds constructed and are in the process of putting the soil into the beds.

The Brownwood Community Garden is located at 1514 Dublin Street, Brownwood, TX 76801

To get in touch with the Brownwood Community Garden, call their phone number 325-430-8944 or their email: [email protected]