Earl, sounds like a worthy project and modest budget. I'd contact the local family owned businesses like the hardware store (might donate tools at least or funds hoping for future business from the gardeners), the local snackfood company or softdrink bottler (might put coin operated machines there too), even fast-food places if locally owned. You might offer to name/label the plots, i.e. "Joe's Garage" for the storage shed, etc.

I've found raising funds for local nonprofits easiest from the hometown folks...sometimes instead of cash from pocket they can offer goods or services and that's helpful too. A contractor may offer a few hours work by a bulldozer, for instance. A plumber may offer his help with irrigation lines.

Hope you don't mind my suggestions..Good luck. josh

I had surplus vegetable plants one year, and considering how much they cost, even (especially) in box stores I wanted to donate them to any local community garden. I spent days calling around, mostly the answer I got was please grow them myself, and then donate the food. Nobody seemed industrious enough to expend the energy to grow their own food. They expected it handed to them, grown. I do support our local food pantry both with fresh produce from my own gardens and a yearly contribution for canned goods through my business. That is my major donation of the year and dear to my heart.

One of the major industries in our town used to have a huge community garden near the heart of town where it was easily within walking distance of many people. They got it all ready each spring so that anyone who wanted a plot could tend it with simply hand tools. The cost was little to nothing, and in those post WWII years, it was always full and glorious.

That acreage of wonderful river bottom soil is now ball field. The company continues to give back to the community with that. But, I suspect the gardens disappeared because the people who needed it most lost the motivation to sustain it.

I'm more than a little curious to see what kind of study you've done to assure that "if you build it, they will come". It would be a wonderful resource if used.