Community Garden of the Brunswick Park and Gardens

On a June afternoon in 2009, six supporters of Brunswick Park and Gardens (BP&G), a non-profit organization working to establish a botanical garden on part of what will be the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, gathered to plant vegetable seeds and tomato and pepper seedlings on their garden plot at the Brunswick Community Gardens.   Food grown from this plot was given to the Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program for use at the soup kitchen and also for giving to the many Brunswick-area citizens who need food assistance.

 When the last of the vegetables was picked at their community garden plot on Industry Road, Brunswick Park and Gardens had contributed 100 pounds to the Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program. Throughout the summer, garden volunteers had planted, weeded, and picked with the sole purpose of helping those in need. Fellow community gardeners, when hearing what the food was being grown for, donated some of their own produce. As Joan McGloin, MCHPP’s office assistant, wrote in a thank you letter, “Fresh garden vegetables are pretty much out of reach for most of our Food Pantry clients—they love to see them on the shelf!” 

 With such a successful outcome, except for the tomato plants falling victim to the tomato blight, Brunswick Park and Gardens hopes to continue this project next summer.  Their hope for the future is that once land has been acquired on the former naval air station for a botanical garden, they will be able to offer community garden plots for all area citizens, including a large plot for the various hunger prevention programs and food pantries.