Originally launched in 2009 by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, The People’s Garden was named in honor of Abraham Lincoln who created the USDA and called it the “People’s Department”. The People’s Garden celebrates gardening and educates the public, underscoring Lincoln’s inclusive scope for USDA to include “…useful information on subjects connected with agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of the word.” While much in agriculture has changed since Lincoln’s time, its core principles remain – the importance of food to sustain people and bring communities together.
The People’s Garden community connects gardens across the country that produce local food, practice sustainability, and bring people together in their community. People’s Gardens can take many different forms; they can include food-producing gardens, wildlife habitats, conservation or beautification projects or education and training spaces.
Your school garden can join the movement:
- by registering at usda.gov/peoples-garden.
- growing your garden using sustainable practices that benefit people and wildlife.
- teaching about gardening and resilient, local food systems.
The benefits of registering as a People’s Garden include:
- People’s Garden signage
- Webinar series
- Access to Extension Foundation Connect platform, a place to share information across the network of registered People’s Gardens
- Opportunities to highlight gardens:
- Included on map at usda.gov/peoples-garden
- Stories of the People’s Garden
- Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production newsletter
- Social media
Want to know more?!
- The People’s Garden website
- People’s Garden Brochure (English) (PDF, 1.9 MB)
- People’s Garden Brochure (Spanish) (PDF, 2.5 MB)
