For years, East Missoula has existed on the outskirts, not just geographically, but also for basic resources. Without a grocery store, residents have to look elsewhere for fresh food and a chance to connect. But on May 3, the East Missoula Community Garden will take root, offering a place where neighbors can grow their own food, share knowledge and build a stronger sense of community.
East Missoula has long lacked access to fresh food, leaving many residents — some who struggle with transportation — reliant on gas stations as their best option for groceries. To address the scarcity, East Missoula United, through partnerships with Garden City Harvest and Missoula County, pushed for a solution, leading to the creation of the East Missoula Community Garden.
Garden City Harvest started in 1996 when the federal government was cutting food stamps and other subsidiaries for low-income families. According to Garden City Harvest Executive Director Jean Zosel, individuals were concerned that the food bank would not have enough resources during this period. Out of that conversation, Garden City Harvest was born.
With the mission to “plant seeds and grow together to create a healthy Missoula” Garden City Harvest was originally designed to grow food for the city’s food banks. One of the first gardens was located at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. At the start, Zosel said the garden produced around 2,000 pounds of food each year.
Today, Garden City Harvest produces about 20,000 pounds of food for the Missoula community. Over 29 years, the organization has grown from a few small plots to 22 sites around town, secured through partnerships. Sites range from neighborhood farms that grow food for locals to school gardens that teach kids about gardening through hands-on experience.
One key part of this network is Garden City Harvest’s 12 community gardens, which provide Missoulians with space to grow their own food while fostering connection among neighbors. The organization provides all of the tools, compost, water and sometimes seeds and starts, along with additional resources to help families.
“We have 11 community gardens around town,” Zosel said. “We rent individual plots to people. This year, we are adding a garden in East Missoula, so, in total, we will end up renting about 440 gardens.”
The conversation to build the East Missoula Community Garden began out of necessity, driven by the fact that the area is a food desert with no grocery stores nearby. To reach the nearest grocery store, residents must commute into town.
While this may not be an issue for some, many residents in East Missoula are unable to make the trip, East Missoula community member Richard Fifield said.
“I would gather there is probably a thousand people of the three thousand who do not have transportation, who are handicapped, elderly, incapacitated in some way that the mile-long trip to Missoula is not possible,” Fifield said.
Watch related coverage: Volunteers put finishing touches on East Missoula community garden
Beyond the challenges faced by elderly and disabled residents, the lack of grocery stores has also shaped the diets of East Missoula’s youth, many of whom have grown up relying on expensive, processed food.
“The kids that I met when I moved here that were 3 or 4 years old are all now 20 and they have never eaten anything but stuff they have got from the gas station, which is twice as expensive and full of high-fructose corn syrup,” Fifield said.
The project gained traction when Eikra Hickey with East Missoula United introduced the concept to the community council 10 years ago.
“If you want to make something happen out here, you kind of have to just go for it,” Hickey said.
East Missoula United’s original mission was to rally against storage units being built in the heart of East Missoula. However, during that effort and while the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing, the group also received positive support for building a community garden.
“Whenever we would talk about the garden, everyone was really excited about it,” Hickey said. “It just makes sense to have another way for people to share community that’s positive out here.”
To make the garden a reality, East Missoula United reached out to Missoula County, said Nick Zanetos, the division manager for Missoula County Parks, Trails and Recreation. The county then connected East Missoula United with Garden City Harvest.
“We always look for projects that our community members want,” Zanetos said. “Specifically, this was a project that had been brought up to us multiple times. It was just a natural match.”
Before Garden City Harvest agreed, Zosel looked at criteria like whether the neighbors were supportive of the garden, whether there was access to water and whether the soil health was good. Zosel found that this location fit their criteria, so in 2021, Garden City Harvest joined the effort.
Since the project is on county land in East Missoula Lions Park, Garden City Harvest first had to reach an agreement with Missoula County. Zosel said it took a while with the back-and-forth to ensure that it was laid out correctly.
One major challenge at the start was figuring out how to water both the remaining parkland and the community garden using the nearby well.
“Then, we also worked with people from the Great Bear Foundation to determine what kind of fencing we should have because there are black bears in that area and we want to make sure it is safe from them,” Zosel said.
Once the initial challenges were addressed, funding became the next hurdle. The project cost $100,000, prompting Zosel to seek grants and additional fundraising.
She applied twice for Missoula County’s Community Parks & Recreation Grant and collaborated with East Missoula United to raise funds. Habitat for Humanity contributed by building the tool shed, while Lowe’s donated wood to support the project.
Garden City Harvest broke ground in 2024 and quickly installed fencing, which was blown down in a large windstorm last summer.
“We had just spent $30,000 on fencing and that big wind storm came and it blew down a bunch of posts and panels,” Zosel said. “I think that was sort of a gut punch. They got it fixed and everything was fine.”
Despite setbacks, the team pushed forward. With the project now complete, the East Missoula Community Garden features 45 plots, most of which are ground-level beds, while some are raised beds designed for those with mobility challenges.
Zosel is excited to see how this new garden will make a difference, bringing people greater access to fresh food and a means to build community.
Community members Hickey and Fifield are excited to welcome this new garden into East Missoula, seeing it as a ray of hope.
“I hope we are able to reach people that live in this community and want to grow their own food or want to learn how to grow their own food,” Hickey said. “I hope that people take advantage of it. I think it can really change a lot of people’s lives.”
Garden City Harvest will host a grand opening for the East Missoula Community Garden on May 3 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Zosel said all are welcome to celebrate the garden’s launch and be part of a new chapter for East Missoula.
This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org.
