You can get involved with Global Gardens by volunteering, donating, or buying fresh local veggies!
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers Christina and Andrew, harvesting lettuce
We’re always welcoming new volunteers. We have more opportunities available in the spring, summer, and fall than in the winter. Volunteers serve the Global Gardens program in a number of different capacities. Some of our volunteers come to workdays once or twice a year to help with garden maintenance, building projects, or breaking ground for new sites, and we can always use more hands on market days. Send us an email to be on our volunteer opportunities list. Several school and corporate groups have also scheduled work days with us.
We are formalizing our volunteer program for those able to make a regular commit to volunteer regularly. We also usually host one or more Americorps volunteers each summer. For more info, visit our Volunteers and Interns page.
Other volunteer opportunities are available with the resettlement agencies including the Agency for New Americans, IRC, and World Relief. Often volunteers mentor a family of newly arrived refugees. For more information, contact these agencies.
Donate
We accept donations including gently used garden tools and equipment, seeds and seedlings, some kinds of compost, donations of services such as hauling or plowing, and cash donations.
The use of all of our land and some of the irrigation costs is also donated by local landowners, including churches, corporations, and private citizens. We almost always have a waiting list of potential farmers and gardeners, so please contact us if you have land you’d like to consider donating. For more information, visit our How to Host a Community Garden page.
Donation wish list:
Garden tools -- Hoes, rakes, shovels, etc.
Picnic tables
Storage Sheds
Seeds and seedlings
Strawberry or blackberry plants
Large coolers
Other reusable containers for harvesting
Plastic Buckets
Watering Cans
Irrigation equipment including a pump
Canning equipment
Use of a large kitchen for food preservation
Website design/maintenance services
Plowing services
How to make a cash donation
If you our your organization would like make a donation, visit our Online Donations Page.
(It's the same place you can order cookbooks, so look for the "donations" line.
Checks can also be sent to Global Gardens, 1607 West Jefferson St., Boise, ID, 83702.
Where to buy our veggies
Global Gardens produce is available for purchase at the Capital City Public Market, Saturday mornings downtown, 9:30 - 1:30, April - October
You can JOIN OUR CSA and get a bag of fresh veggies every week, June - September. This is one of the best ways to support a refugee farmer.
We also sell produce regularly at the following restaurants and establishments. Please eat there often:
Boise Co-op
Bittercreek Grill
Red Feather Lounge
Willy B's
Guido's Pizza
Cafe Vicino
Please contact us to add your restaurant to this list!
Hire a Refugee
If you own a farm, or any kind of business, you might be interested in hiring a refugee as an employee. We have connected several of our clients with local farm employers.
Given the current economic situation, it is getting harder for refugees to find work, and our job developers are looking farther outside of Boise than they used to. Many refugees do come from agricultural backgrounds in their own countries, or have participated in the Global Gardens program.
Refugees speak varying amounts of English but are all working to improve their English skills. Job placement with a family-owned business is an ideal situation because they tend to receive more individual attention than they would at a large company, and their English and cultural skills develop much faster.
Please contact us if interested, we can help find someone who is a good match for you.