Saturday, May 9, 2026, was the Giving Garden Opening Day! Under a beautiful blue sky, more than 1,000 tomato plants stretched across The Giving Garden in neat green rows. These tiny plants were freshly planted by muddy-handed volunteers ranging in age from 8 months to 84 years old.
If all goes as planned, those plants will provide more than 50,000 tomatoes for Kansas City neighbors experiencing food insecurity. That kind of impact doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when people choose to show up. Fifty thousand tomatoes! It’s hard to even picture that many. That’s enough to fill a small swimming pool.
What makes The Giving Garden so incredible is that it’s about more than just the produce—it’s about the people. It’s about watching generations serve side by side and seeing someone who has gardened for decades kneeling next to a teenager, showing them how to gently place a plant into the soil. It’s about conversations happening over watering cans and wheelbarrows. It’s about creating a space where people from all walks of life can come together and do something tangible and meaningful for their community.
Since the garden first began in 2023, more than 10 tons of produce have been donated to local partners and ministries across Kansas City. Every season, the impact continues to grow, not just in pounds of produce, but in the community being built there.
Serving Together at the Giving Garden
One of the most beautiful things about The Giving Garden Opening Day was seeing how many people simply wanted to be part of it. Some volunteers were experienced gardeners. Some admitted they had no idea what they were doing. Some came with young kids. Some came alone. Some came because they care deeply about food insecurity, while others came because they simply wanted to spend a Saturday morning doing something good alongside other people in beautiful weather. That’s exactly what The Giving Garden is for.
Over the next several months, volunteers will continue planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, and helping care for the garden, and there is plenty of room for more people to jump in. Whether you know everything about gardening or can barely keep a houseplant alive, there is a place for you here. The Giving Garden meets every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday through October, and we would absolutely love for you to come serve with us this season.
Somewhere down the road, a family in Kansas City is going to sit down to a meal that includes food grown right here in this garden by people who chose to show up and care for their neighbors—and that’s a pretty amazing thing to be part of.
Read more about the story of The Giving Garden.
Learn more about Local Mission at Resurrection.
