Everyone Deserves Fresh Produce

Fresh Food Connect helps us connect food-insecure residents with fresh produce from backyard gardens and local farms. The Garden District Corporation has joined forces with this national non-profit organization in pursuit of a more local, resilient food system.

Share your Backyard Bounty

Your extra produce and herbs will go directly to local food pantries, where fresh and healthy options aren’t always available. Once you sign up, The GardenWorks Project will update you on which pantries have the biggest need, so you know exactly where to donate your bounty!

Farmers and backyard growers all welcome!

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The Garden District partners with Fresh Food Connect to help

Columbus, Ohio (January 2026)

The Garden District Corporation announced a partnership with Fresh Food Connect, a national nonprofit and free mobile app that helps home and community gardeners donate extra produce to local hunger relief programs. Through the Fresh Food Connect app, gardeners can quickly log what they have to share and connect with a nearby drop-off or pickup option coordinated by participating community partners, keeping homegrown food hyperlocal and reducing waste.

"We meet so many people who want to help but do not always know the most practical way to plug in," said Sean McKay, President of The Garden District Corporation. "This partnership creates a simple pathway for gardeners to turn surplus harvest into fresh, dignified food access for neighbors across Central Ohio."

Fresh Food Connect was created to make it easy for gardeners to participate in hunger relief and to strengthen local, resilient food systems by connecting neighbors through donated produce. The app is free for gardeners and is designed to help schedule and track donations, supporting local operations that may use a drop-off or pickup model, depending on community needs.

Fresh Food Connect's partner network includes dozens of nonprofit hunger relief organizations across the country, and The Garden District is listed among its community partners in Ohio.

How it works for gardeners

Gardeners who download the Fresh Food Connect app can connect with a local hunger relief partner, then schedule and track donations throughout the growing season. Locations and hours are updated as local operations expand and change.

Why this matters

Fresh Food Connect cites food waste and food insecurity as dual challenges, and frames produce sharing as a practical, community-scale solution. In its published impact reporting, Fresh Food Connect notes that in 2022 it connected thousands of gardeners with hunger-relief partners and helped distribute tens of thousands of pounds of homegrown produce nationwide.

Call to action

Gardeners interested in sharing extra produce this growing season can download the Fresh Food Connect app and select The Garden District as their local partner when prompted. Community gardens and growing groups that want to build a giving program can also explore Fresh Food Connect's gardener resources for seasonal guidance and tools.

About The Garden District Corporation
The Garden District Corporation is a Columbus-based organization working to cultivate food access through sustainable urban agriculture, leadership development, and community-based solutions.

About Fresh Food Connect
Fresh Food Connect is a tech-based nonprofit that connects gardeners with local hunger relief organizations to coordinate and track donations of surplus homegrown produce, increasing healthy food access and reducing waste.

Participate in Fresh Food Connect

Download the App

Each year, roughly 1 in 10 people in the US experiences food insecurity, yet 40% of our food is wasted.

At the same time, 1 in 3 US households grows food at home or in community gardens.

The free Fresh Food Connect mobile app is helping thousands of home gardeners track and manage donations of homegrown produce to support local hunger relief.

Will you join us?

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Drop Off Donations

When you use the app to manage your donation, you're not only helping out a neighbor in need, you're also reducing the environmental impact of food waste.

Whether you're able to donate two pounds or twenty, you're making a difference.

Resources

Bring the growing season home and keep it going all year. We are building a resource hub for gardeners and community growers who want to learn by doing and share more of what they grow. Explore seasonal guides for spring, summer, fall, and winter, including beginner-friendly planning and seed starting help, troubleshooting for heat, pests, and watering, fall harvest and frost tips, plus indoor growing and hydroponics resources. If you are ready to level up your skills and put extra harvest to work in your community, start here and take one next step today.

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