Dane County residents will have the opportunity to grow food together when the county breaks ground on the first community garden in its parks in the next several weeks.

The garden, located in the Badger Prairie County Park in Verona, allows residents to rent out plots to grow anything they want or to work together to grow food for the local food shelf, according to county supervisor Erika Hotchkiss. The garden is a pilot project, and if it is successful, county officials hope to expand the idea to additional parks, she said.

The allocated spot for the garden is part of the five acres currently farmed by the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, according to John Migon, coordinator for the Badger Prairie Community Garden. Migon said he asked CAC if the county could borrow an acre to act as a garden for all residents and they agreed.

Hotchkiss explained the intent of the garden is to bring people together through a community project. Anyone can get involved in the food production process, he said.

“I hope it brings diverse groups of the community together,” Hotchkiss said. “I hope it teaches people things, whether it’s growing food in their own backyard, composting or other skills.”

Anyone can rent a plot, Hotchkiss said. In addition to local residents, the county is marketing the garden to school organizations, senior centers and the food pantry, she said.

The garden is designed to be a space where all residents will have access to healthy food, Hotchkiss said. Lower income residents can grow their own food and space in the garden will also be allocated specifically for the Verona Area Needs Network, a local food pantry, she said.

“I feel it’s important to have these spaces of land be dedicated to growing vegetables and food,” Migon said. “I think it’s important for people to be in those healing outdoor spaces and [the garden] is a great way to bring people together.”

Of the 90 available plots, 60 are already reserved for residents interested in participating in the project, he said.

The garden is funded by the county and through fundraising efforts in the community, Hotchkiss said. The county included $40,000 in the current budget to go toward the garden, she said.

Initially the garden was slotted to be available for planting by the end of April, but the project faced several setbacks, Migon said.

Before residents can begin planting, the county must finish the well and irrigation system for the garden, Migon said. The cold weather that extended into spring and excessive amounts of rain kept work from progressing, he said. The garden’s opening will likely be a month behind the normal planting season, but the county hopes to have food growing by the summer, he said.

Hotchkiss said there is a strong possibility other Dane County parks could start a community garden in the near future. The county did not have to contribute much to the project because residents are very involved with the project and have reacted positively to the idea of more gardens, she said.