Hometown Harvest

Hometown Harvest is a university community collaboration to encourage young people from kindergarten to college to grow, eat and share fresh produce, as well as experience Appalachia’s rich legacy of gardening traditions from local elders. The garden is located at the Historic Vickery House on the UNG Dahlonega Campus. In this outdoor teaching space, children and college students work beside community and campus leaders to further enrich our understanding of Appalachian gardening and food. Our primary partners include the Appalachian Studies Center, UNG Biology Department, Lumpkin County School System (LCSS), and Lumpkin County 4-H.  

This program was developed in 2017 in response to community requests for afterschool STEM programming and with the intention of creating a sustainable source of fresh produce for the campus food pantry and local schools. It also addresses the need for more efficient and affordable gardening practices through the use of precision agriculture.  

Founding partners include public libraries, civic groups, small businesses, and individual donors as well as institutions like the Lumpkin County School System (LCSS) and Lumpkin County 4-H. 

Read more about us in the press:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080272896685

Support Hometown Harvest

Volunteer

Email david.patterson@ung.edu for more information about getting involved with Hometown Harvest.

Donate

Donate online to help us expand our community garden-based learning project!

Our Team

  • David Patterson (co-director): Associate Professor of Biology  
  • Julie Knight-Brown (co-director): Director of Nutrition, Lumpkin County School System 
  • Kelly West (co-director):  
  • Karrie Ann Fadroski (co-director): Biology Principal Lecturer and Director of the UNG Heirloom Seed
  • Kelly Millsaps (co-director): Grant Specialist, Office of Sponsored Programs 
  • Morgan Sutherland (co-director): Biology Lab Manager

Mission 

Feeding, learning, carrying on traditions, and working together.

Vision 

An ongoing community collaboration to grow food while learning about and sharing local traditions.