Story by Abby Warren

This November, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Friends of Portland Community Gardens and commend them for their many outstanding accomplishments!

In recognition of their 25 years of dedication to Portland's Community Gardens program, the FPCG board hosted a fundraising event at the Eco Trust building on November 10th.

The evening was a sure success. Among the over 130 guests in attendance were Mayor Sam Adams and City Commissioner Nick Fish who both delivered speeches praising the Friends group for their consistent contribution over the years. Also in attendance were key partners from organizations who recognize the important work the FPCG is doing including Zenger Farms, Independence Gardens, Outgrowing Hunger, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the Multnomah Food Policy Council, and Growing Gardens. 

Thanks to generous donations from both businesses and individuals, the Friends are on their way to meeting their 25th Anniversary fundraising goal of $25,000. A big thank you to Fred Meyer who participated in a Challenge Match, promising to match the first $2,500 raised at the event. Donations from guests met that goal and got the match! A big thank you as well to the $1,000 dollar level supporters at Food Front Cooperative Grocery, Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, and the Oregon Food Bank for their gracious donations!  

The Friends are still working towards their $25,000 goal. Please visit their website and donate. Your donation will help them as they continue to: secure grants for garden development and expansion, underwrite garden education programming, recruit volunteers for garden work parties, conduct neighborhood outreach, advocate community-wide on the importance of community gardens, and more.  

Photos: Frank DiMarco/dimarcoimages.com