Seed to Feed
Homegrown Solutions to Local Hunger
Our Mission: Growing hope. Nourishing neighbors. Cultivating community.
Seed to Feed, a program of Church Community Services, strengthens food security by connecting people with fresh, locally grown food.
What started in 2011 with two gardens and a simple idea has grown into 42 community and production gardens, hundreds of volunteers, and a network dedicated to feeding our neighbors. This year, we proudly celebrate 15 years of service and the milestone of 3 million pounds of locally grown produce and protein redistributed through food pantries and community organizations across the Michiana region.
Celebrating with Seeds of Hope
To honor this milestone, we're launching Seeds of Hope—a storytelling campaign sharing the people, partnerships, and purpose that grew from one small seed of hope. Through community stories and a short documentary film, we'll celebrate the volunteers, gardens, and neighbors who have helped build this legacy.
Has Seed to Feed been part of your story? We'd love to hear it. Contact Erica Coppens at ecoppens@churchcommunityservices.org to share your experience.
Celebrate With Us
Join us on October 3 at The Acres for our Seeds of Hope Farm-to-Table Fundraiser, hosted by our Teen Growers. Celebrate 15 years of impact, enjoy a locally grown meal, live music, and be among the first to see the Seeds of Hope film.
Click the button below to reserve your Jazz Brunch tickets today.
Gardens
Throughout Elkhart County, volunteers work diligently every summer to grow produce for the guests who visit our pantry. Each of our 44 community gardens are volunteer-run by churches, community organizations, or dedicated individuals. This community effort is what allows us to bring in such high volumes of produce each year. Each garden has its own unique qualities, but generally falls under one of the categories listed below.
Production Gardens: fully collaborate with Seed to Feed to create a garden plan for the purpose of growing produce for food pantries in Elkhart County.
Community Learning Gardens: collaborate with Seed to Feed to create a garden plan for educating our community in the art of growing produce and eating healthy, while also donating excess produce to Seed to Feed.
Partner Gardens: gardens which function as a separate entity by developing their own garden plan and providing their own resources for gardening, but donate excess produce to Seed to Feed.
Interested in starting or joining a garden? Contact our Seed to Feed Director, Erica Coppens.
Please note: ALL gardens listed below are private partner and production gardens and are not open for public harvesting.
2026 Seed to Feed Gardens
Please note: ALL gardens listed below are private partner and production gardens and are not open for public harvesting.
Community Gardens:
ADEC homes
Bristol Community Garden
Brookside Manor
CCS Micro Farm
Graber House
LITE Recovery
Mosaic Center
Nappanee Garden (The Center)
North Webster Community Center
Riverside Terrace
Rosedale High Rise
SoMa Garden
The Willows
Tiger Retired Senior Care
Tolson Center
YWCA
Production Gardens:
Airport Garden/ Master Gardener's
CCS Production Greenhouse
Creekside Church of the Brethren
Elkhart County Community Corrections
French Garden
Graber Garden
Olive Mennonite/ Grandpa's Garden
Pleasantview Community Church
River Oaks Community Church
Shantz Garden
Zion Community Church
Education Gardens:
ACCELL (Elkhart Community Schools/ EACC)
ADEC Resource Center
Baker Youth Club Boys and Girls Club,Goshen
Bushelcraft Farm
CCS Education Greenhouse
Jimtown High School
The Post
Wellfield Botanic Garden
Greenhouses
Seed to Feed acquired the original greenhouse is 2016. It is used primarily as an educational greenhouse, serving as a hands-on learning garden to our Teen Growers program and our community gardening classes, open to the public. Our Educational Greenhouse is also home to over 13,000 plant starts each Spring, as we prepare our seedlings for our Community Gardens.
To address the need for year-round access to fresh produce, we launched an initiative to expand our growing capabilities. In 2023 we removed asphalt for the construction of our second greenhouse. This greenhouse uses lean organic farming techniques to ensure the highest yield per square foot of growing space. Now in 2025 we are utilizing both greenhouses and a microfarm right here on our grounds to continue feeding our neighbors!
Interested in volunteering in the greenhouse? Contact Seed to Feed Director, Erica Coppens.
Advisory Committee Members
Dave Hochstetler
Sid Richard
Chelsea Risser
Keith Miller
John Monger
John Weaver
Erica Coppens - Seed To Feed Director Keith Sarber - Executive Director
Teen Growers Internship
Do you want to learn how to grow food for your community and make new friends? Check out our Teen Growers Internship. Teen Growers will learn lean organic farming in our new Production Greenhouse and will have the unique opportunity to help us plan and build our new on-site microfarm garden. If you are interested in learning more about enrollment or volunteer opportunities with the Teen Growers program, please contact Erica Coppens at ecoppens@churchcommunityservices.org
Pigs for the Pantry
The new Pigs for the Pantry initiative is a Seed to Feed project that aims to provide pantry guests with much-needed protein in their diets. A donation of $125 will supply 125 lbs of pork, or 665 USDA servings of ground pork, to those in need of protein in our community. To be involved, make checks payable to Church Community Services and note on the memo line “Pigs for the Pantry” OR donate now!
Get Involved!
Questions about Seed to Feed? Contact:
Seed to Feed Director, Erica Coppens 574-295-3673 ext. 122, seedtofeed@churchcommunityservices.org
Take a tour
Want to learn more about Seed to Feed or Church Community Services? Contact us to set up a tour! (574) 295-3673 ext. 122