Seed to Feed

Homegrown Solutions to Local Hunger

Our Mission: To establish food security in Elkhart County by providing fresh, local produce and protein to those in need.

Seed to Feed, a program of Church Community Services, works alongside the organization’s food pantry to address food insecurity in Elkhart County.  Seed to Feed started in 2011 with two gardens and two cash crop fields, with the goal of providing fresh, local produce to food pantries in the area. Seed to Feed shares 100,000 - 300,000 pounds of local produce and protein to our pantry guests and community organizations throughout the county.

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, work began on our expansion project, as we removed asphalt for the construction of our second greenhouse. This greenhouse will be operated using lean organic farming techniques to ensure the highest yield per square foot of growing space. We are currently in the final stages of completion and already planting for our first Winter harvest!

Interested in volunteering in the greenhouse? Contact Seed to Feed Director, Erica Coppens.

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.

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. This Spring our internship program will run for approximately 12 weeks and starts February 27th. 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

2023 Gardens

Community Sharing Gardens (Open to the Public to Harvest)

Bristol Community Garden

501 E St. Joseph St. Bristol, IN

CCS Sunflower Garden

1332 W Indiana Ave, Elkhart, IN 46516

Givens Garden

56858 Mark Manor Drive Elkhart IN 46516

Goshen Health Community Garden

1135 Professional Dr, Goshen, IN 46526

Healing Garden

14691 CountrySide Court, Middlebury

Olive Community Garden

61081 Co Rd 3, Elkhart, IN 46517

Advisory Committee Members

Dwight Fish

Dave Hochstetler

Sid Richard

Chelsea Risser

John Monger

Abby Utterback

John Weaver

Erica Coppens - Seed To Feed Director Keith Sarber - Executive Director