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Success Story

Rhode Island People's Gardens

Improving Food Security Across the Ocean State
Publish Date
Box garden growing vegetables and edible flowers at St. Raphael's People's Garden in Pawtucket, RI, July 2024.

The simple act of planting a garden can have big impacts – from building a more resilient local food system to empowering communities.

Bags of cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, parsley, and hot peppers ready to donate, with salad greens.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Rhode Island funded a six-year project with the Eastern, Northern, and Southern RI Conservation Districts through the Rhode Island State Conservation Committee (RISCC) to create People’s Gardens throughout the Ocean State.

Through this project, over $401,000 was awarded to schools, community groups, NGOs, and local government agencies to fund 77 gardens. Projects included community gardens, pollinator gardens, school gardens, and food forests. These projects leveraged over $623,000 in partner match through in-kind services and supplies and volunteer hours.

What are People’s Gardens?

Two elementary school children plant seedlings in the People's Garden at Blackstone Valley Prep in Cumberland, RI.
Blackstone Valley Prep grade school students plant vegetable seedlings with hand-painted ID rocks at their People's Garden in Cumberland.

People’s Gardens are a USDA initiative named in honor of the Department’s founder, President Abraham Lincoln, who described USDA as the “People’s Department.” The first People’s Garden started on February 12, 2009, Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

People’s Gardens foster community collaboration, create jobs and green spaces, provide access to nutritious food, and provide an educational space for consumers. People’s Gardens can include school gardens, community gardens, pollinator and wildlife habitat gardens, beautification gardens, and small-scale agriculture projects in rural and urban areas.

Project Objectives

  • Help local communities to ensure the safety and improve the quality of locally produced fruits and vegetables.
  • Protect and conserve soil and water resources in our communities.
  • Protect or improve pollinator or wildlife habitat.

Conservation District partners funded garden projects across the Ocean State through a mini-grant process. Each garden applicant had to have and maintain control of the land where the garden was established and to maintain the garden site for at least 18 months. Groups that installed high tunnel systems in their gardens must maintain their gardens for at least 36 months after high tunnel installation.

A Monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed blossoms at the Frank Olean Center People's Garden in Westerly, RI, Sept. 2025.
A Monarch butterfly feeds on milkweed at the Frank Olean Center People's Garden in Westerly, September 2025.

Types of People’s Gardens

FOOD GARDENS grow healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables in local communities and donate any excess food to local food pantries.

WILDLIFE HABITAT & SUSTAINABLE GARDENS provide food, water, cover, and a place for wildlife to raise their young. They also provide essential pollinator habitat for bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. They demonstrate the value of conserving
soil, water, air, and other natural resources.

BEAUTIFICATION to nurture green, natural spaces for communities to gather, enjoy, and reflect. Gardens use native, perennial flowering plants to build healthier ecosystems.

EDUCATION & TRAINING gardens align activities with classroom lessons and subjects or use gardens to offer job training and apprenticeships in forestry, agriculture, landscaping, and culinary arts.

Learn More & Start a Garden!

Rhode Island NRCS and our local Conservation Districts encourage community groups, nongovernmental organizations, schools, churches, local government agencies, and other interested groups to join our People’s Garden movement! Even though the grant has ended, we can still provide free technical assistance for garden design and setup. Our Conservation Districts can also help you find volunteers for your community project. Do you have a community farm or garden that you’d like to designate a People’s Garden? Join us!

West Warwick High School students water gardens and check plants for pests-crop in Fall 2025
West Warwick High School students water gardens and check plants for pests-crop in Fall 2025.

Partners

Map of Rhode Island People’s Gardens; Purple loosestrife with butterflies Spruce Acres in Portsmouth; Building raised beds at Corliss Center community garden in Warren.
Map of Rhode Island People’s Gardens; Purple loosestrife with butterflies in Spruce Acres pollinator garden in Portsmouth; Volunteers build raised garden beds at Corliss Center community garden in Warren.

Find Your Local Service Center

USDA Service Centers are locations where you can connect with Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or Rural Development employees for your business needs. Enter your state and county below to find your local service center and agency offices.