Jun. 2—GRAND FORKS — Di Sun and Yujie Xue have returned for a third year at the Grand Forks Community Garden. When they harvest their plot, the bounty will feed their family, friends and church members.
“(We planted) chili peppers, eggplant, green beans,” Di Sun told the Herald. “The kids planted pumpkins.”
On a recent weekday, Ethan Sun and Jesse Sun, 5-year-old twins, took turns watering their family’s plot with the unwieldy hose.
“They enjoy gardening, and playing in the garden,” Di Sun said.
As for Di Sun and his wife, they enjoy the farming process, and harvesting at the end of the season.
The Grand Forks Community Garden officially returned for the season Saturday, May 25, at its new location in the 2000 block of South 17th Avenue. The property, owned by the city, includes 24 plots, each measuring 20 by 20 feet.
“(It’s) completely full already, which is wonderful,” said Mandy Burbank, Grand Forks Public Health dietitian. “I actually have a waiting list of gardeners who would like to participate, but I just don’t have enough plots for everyone.”
Grand Forks Public Health has been administering the project since 2016. The garden is partly paid for through a Preventative Health and Human Services grant from the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services.
Additional funding comes from plot fees. It costs participants $40 to use a plot — which gardeners can share with others if they’d like — for the growing season. The fee covers resources like tilling, stakes and twine.
“Our community garden runs a little bit differently,” Burbank said. “If folks qualify for WIC benefits or SNAP benefits, they’re able to get a reduced rate.”
The community garden allows people to have autonomy over what they eat, connect with how their food is grown and make healthier choices, she said.
“The amount of produce that one can get in a garden is quite great,” Burbank said.
Di Sun and Yujie Xue stopped planting zucchini this year, because they harvested such a large amount in their first two gardening seasons.
“We got a lot of product,” Di Sun said. “The first year, we froze the zucchini, but after that we tried to send it to our friends, or someone at the church.”
Gardeners are responsible for purchasing anything they want to plant, including common vegetables like carrots, as well as produce that’s more popular within cultures outside the U.S., Burbank said.
“We have families that are New Americans, so they’re growing different types of vegetables than someone who’s grown up here might grow,” she said. “That helps us get to visit with our neighbors who are in another garden plot and learn about different types of vegetables. It creates that really healthy microbiome.”
Many garden plots are utilized by families, but others are being used by Northland’s Rescue Mission, NDSU Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Grand Forks Police Department’s IMPACT Academy.
The IMPACT academy, a summer program for middle school students, was created with a goal of helping create community leaders and role models, according to the GFPD website.
“That’s a new partnership with the police department that we haven’t had before, so we’re excited to do that,” Burbank said.
Research shows growing gardens with children is a positive experience, and makes them much more likely to try produce when they’ve grown it themselves, she said.
“That helps in the long run to create a generation of really well-fed children,” Burbank said.
Staff from Northland’s Rescue Mission, a local emergency shelter, will use a plot to provide food for their clients. Other gardeners, including NDSU Extension and NRCS, will donate their produce.
“A couple of our gardeners are purely there to help teach others how to grow,” Burbank said. “(An NRCS employee) is down there, meeting with gardeners and talking about, ‘what can we put back into the soil as we grow our vegetables?'”
Those interested in getting involved in the community garden for the 2025 growing season are encouraged to reach out to Mandy Burbank in January at (701) 787-8128 or
. Preference is given to SNAP or WIC participants, as well as returning gardeners.
“Gardens are an excellent way for the community to come together, and to grow different foods,” Burbank said. “They’re learning about nutrition, they’re learning about vegetables, and connecting with other people. It’s a great group of people. I’ve been doing this since 2016, and it’s been a great experience.”
Signup bonus from
