As the economy continues to suffer, non-profits and schools are considering community and co-op gardening as a way to provide sustainable ways to supplement their food pantries and school lunch programs. Thanks to the support of the SWFL Community Foundation, ECHO can now provide planning and consulting to local organizations interested in producing food in Southwest Florida.

Karyn Traum began her internship at ECHO in November of 2009 learning tropical agriculture, while bringing to ECHO her valuable skills learned while working with University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener community garden projects.

For information on how ECHO can potentially assist your organization with consulting on your project, please download the “Community Gardening Application for Assistance” or contact Karyn Traum, at ktraum@echonet.org.