DAVENPORT, IOWA (November 24, 2025) — As the growing season comes to a close, the Quad Cities community has something to celebrate: Home gardeners and community volunteers across the region turned their summer harvests into thousands of pounds of fresh produce for neighbors in need. The effort — which began as a simple invitation to “grow a little extra” — blossomed into a movement of generosity, culminated with a celebration on Monday, November 24, at Tapestry Farms in Davenport.
GIFT (Growing Illowa Food Together) Gardens launched this spring and assembled a community of beginner to advanced gardeners who grew and donated fresh produce to local food pantries and hunger relief agencies. More than 80 Quad Citians signed up to plant an extra row or extra plot, collect the surplus, and drop it off at designated donation sites. Throughout the season, volunteers ensured that produce was weighed, tracked, and delivered to families and organizations who could use it immediately.
Individuals, families, and groups of people participated in the effort. Donations ranged from twenty pounds of tomatoes grown in East Moline to thousands of pounds of produce grown at a community garden in north Davenport. Food was distributed to eighteen different pantries and community sites across the QCA.
“Gardening is an act of optimism and hope. When given the opportunity to help neighbors in need, it is not surprising that growers stepped up and shared their harvest,” said Emily Swihart, Extension Educator, Horticulture, University of Illinois.
“Every donated tomato, carrot, or cucumber made a difference, and we celebrate each and every pound.”
To celebrate the end of the season, gardeners, volunteers, and organizers gathered to recognize collective impact, share stories from the season, and honor the generosity of everyone who contributed. Part of the celebration included an announcement of the total pounds of fresh produce donated through this year’s GIFT Gardens initiative.
The donations reflect a growing commitment from local gardeners and groups of citizens to strengthen community care, increase access to healthy foods across the region, and reduce food waste.
“Our community proved this year that we can collectively decrease nutrition insecurity by growing more fresh produce,” said Ann McGlynn, executive director of Tapestry Farms. “The joy of planting, tending, and harvesting a garden is amplified by giving some or all of the produce away. We look forward to next year, as we continue to build a Quad-Cities that chooses to put as much available land to use as possible, to nourish as many people as possible with good food.”
The program is a partnership between Tapestry Farms, University of Illinois Extension, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and River Bend Food Bank. GIFT Gardens will launch its second season in the spring of 2026. Organizers encourage people to watch for announcements and to join the effort of generosity, lending a hand to help cultivate another season of abundance.
Questions? E-mail giftgardens@tapestryfarms.org.
About Tapestry Farms:
Tapestry Farms generously invests in the lives of refugees who resettle in the Quad Cities, focusing on access, urban farming, and building a welcoming future. Through its urban farm program, Tapestry Farms reclaims underutilized land in neighborhoods experiencing food insecurity, growing culturally responsive produce so that everyone in the community can be abundantly fed. To learn more, visit: tapestryfarms.org/.
About University of Illinois Extension:
University of Illinois Extension links local communities to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to develop programs, tools, and knowledge that will support needed change. The mission of the University of Illinois Extension is to develop educational programs, extend knowledge, and build partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state’s land-grant institution. To learn more, visit: extension.illinois.edu/.
About Iowa State University Extension:
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach builds a strong Iowa by engaging all Iowans in research, education, and extension experiences to address current and emerging real-life challenges. Their work aims to advance land-grant values by engaging all Iowans in solving today's problems and preparing for a thriving future. To learn more, visit: extension.iastate.edu/.
About River Bend Food Bank:
River Bend Food Bank, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, feeds people experiencing hunger by rescuing, safely storing, and distributing nutritious food through more than 400 hunger-relief partners in 23 counties in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. To learn more, visit: riverbendfoodbank.org/.
