The power of partnership: Growing the West Michigan Community Garden Coalition
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EmailLocal organizations in the greater Grand Rapids area come together to bring community gardens to West Michigan.
What started as a conversation about the need for a community garden in Kentwood has grown into a collaborative effort that is bringing people and organizations together to expand access to fresh, locally grown food and garden education across West Michigan.
Feeding America West Michigan initially met with H.O.P.E Gardens in April of 2025 to discuss the potential for a community garden in Kentwood. In July of that year, Clare O’Tsuji, a staff member from the Kent District Library in Kentwood, connected Michigan State University Extension’s Kent County 4-H with Feeding America West Michigan’s Claire Bode to continue exploring what that might look like. As conversations continued, additional community partners joined the effort, including the Refugee Education Center.
The group quickly moved from conversation to action, identifying both funding and a location for what would become the Woodfield Community Garden, thanks to the support of the Woodfield Apartments’ owner Dan Hibma, Land & Co. and the Michigan Fitness Foundation. In November 2025, H.O.P.E. Gardens’ Julie Brunson and Christie Koester led the effort to break ground alongside the other partner organizations, creating a shared space designed to support community connection, education and access to fresh produce.
But the collaboration did not stop with one garden. The growth continued, eventually forming what is now the West Michigan Community Garden Coalition with a larger goal of identifying opportunities to support and establish community gardens throughout the area. Since the creation of the Woodfield garden, additional garden conversations have sprouted, including continued work on a garden at the Family Network of Wyoming. The Family Network of Wyoming Garden was originally created in 2024 with support from H.O.P.E Gardens and students from Anchor Point Christian.
In September 2026, staff from H.O.P.E. Gardens, Kent County 4-H and Feeding America West Michigan gathered at the Family Network of Wyoming garden and harvested 68 pounds of fresh produce. Most of the harvest was donated directly to the food pantry at Family Network of Wyoming to support local families.
The impact of the garden was also visible while the harvest was taking place. Two community members passing by stopped to ask whether they could take some of the fresh produce home. One woman left carrying a 15-pound watermelon, while another gathered some green tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and peppers to bring to her elderly mother. These brief and spontaneous interactions provided a meaningful reminder of exactly what the coalition hopes these gardens can become: welcoming community gathering places where fresh food is accessible and neighbors are encouraged to enjoy what is grown.
The West Michigan Community Garden Coalition demonstrates what is possible when community organizations bring their individual strengths, relationships and resources together around a shared need. What began with a single conversation and one garden has grown into an ongoing partnership that is dedicated to creating spaces for growing food, strengthening community connections and increasing access to fresh produce.
As the coalition, coordinated by Christie Koester of H.O.P.E Gardens, continues to meet and identify new opportunities, its impact continues to grow, one garden, one partnership and one harvest at a time. Kent County 4-H, which has supported garden preparation and maintenance days through staff and volunteer hours, plans to expand their coalition involvement in the future by delivering gardening and nutrition programming on site, as well as inviting 4-H youth to join in garden support. The next opportunity for Kent County 4-H youth and volunteers to get involved will be November 13 when the group gathers at the Peppercorn Community Garden to mulch.
MSU Extension relies heavily on community partnerships to increase the reach of the work we do. For more information about partnering with MSU Extension in your community, contact your local 4-H program coordinator.
