Sweetgrass Garden Comes to SI Garden Club!

Join us for the Seabrook Island Garden Club’s April meeting on Friday, April 14 – Local Garden Feeding the Community. Featured guest speaker Jennifer Wicker is the Executive Director of Sweetgrass Garden, a local, non-profit center that provides free, fresh produce to charitable food distribution agencies. The mission of Sweetgrass Garden is to teach the general public about sustainable methods, farming, composting, and to distribute food to people in need and the organizations that serve them. Sweetgrass Garden was founded by Dr. George Taylor and Dale Snyder in 2010, with a two-acre property that was donated by a local resident of Kiawah Island. What started out as a desire to feed the hungry of Johns Island and a church volunteer effort grew into something much more. ​ Initially Sweetgrass Garden provided the food to the Lowcountry Food Bank in Charleston with their first year of crops. It comprised 6,000 pounds of produce, including green beans, cabbage, blueberries, tomatoes, peas, and peppers. Today, all of the produce is donated to the Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation, an umbrella organization that is linked to eleven local organizations that help local residents receive the food. They also have active bee colonies that produce honey that is offered to anyone who makes a donation to Sweetgrass Garden. Sweetgrass exists through donations, fundraising events, grants and the dedication of the people who receive no salaries and work tirelessly on the farm. When: Friday, 4/14/23 Greeting and Refreshments: 9:30 am Business Meeting: 9:45am Presentation: 10:00am with Q&A’s Location: Oyster Catcher Community Center Presenter: Jennifer Wicker, Executive Director, Sweetgrass Garden *Please bring cash (small bills) to participate in our fun raffles, where the funds benefit our philanthropies. Guests of members are welcome to attend: $5 donation. The Seabrook Island Garden Club focuses on those who have an active interest in horticulture and artistic design, community beautification, ecology and philanthropy.  The 2022-2023 Seabrook Island Garden Club: Let’s talk some dirt! –Submitted by Beth Wright, Seabrook Island Garden Club Publicity (Image credit: Seabrook Island Garden Club)