Writer: Emmett McMenamy
A dozen years ago, some Drake University students lobbied for an on-campus garden as a peaceful getaway. Their plan quickly outgrew its original concept, and the students successfully applied for a grant to support the project. Now, the Sprout Garden serves the community as an outdoor classroom for a hands-on nutrition program for children in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Iowa.
Educating local children is vital because many have only limited access to healthy food at home. More than 95% of K-12 students in the surrounding neighborhoods qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, according to the Sprout Garden’s webpage. To help, Drake students who tend the Sprout Garden have turned it into a lively place for Boys and Girls Club members to learn about nutrition, gardening and even foraging for food in the natural environment.
“When they show up every week, they’re always so excited,” said Drake junior Lindsey Siebert, who coordinates the classes with the Boys and Girls Clubs. “They ask, ‘Oh, what are we going to do?’ Or ‘Do we get to eat anything?’ I think it will stick with them one way or another.”
Growing this garden from the ground up wasn’t easy. The Drake students who started the program approached university leaders with help from professor David Courard-Hauri. Initially, the university was reluctant to green-light the project because it assumed the garden would eventually fall into disarray. But Courard-Hauri helped the students make their case and apply for a grant, which enabled them to plant their first plot on Forest Avenue, just east of the Knapp Center. When Drake and Des Moines Public Schools finalized plans for a new stadium in that spot, students planted a new Sprout Garden in 2020 at the corner of 30th Street and Carpenter Avenue.
The new plot is larger than the original, with two areas: a fenced-in section overseen by volunteer master gardeners and a “food forest” managed by students. There’s also a seating area for up to 50 kids and other visitors.
In all, the garden yielded about 400 pounds of produce in 2024. Drake students often show off the harvested fruits and vegetables to help kids understand the garden’s growing potential. It’s “rewarding to see them so engaged and enthusiastic,” said Anna Redeker, who works with the Boys and Girls Clubs.
The surplus produce is given to the kids, offered to volunteers or tucked in the Little Free Pantry outside the garden, for anyone who can use it.
A dozen years after the former Drake students planted the idea for the garden, it’s taken root and become a hub for the community. As seasons and students come and go, it continues to help the next generation learn about nutrition.
“It makes me super joyful,” Siebert said. “Some of the kids don’t have the opportunity to do this at home, so they are excited to see things grow.”
Drake University’s Sprout Garden. Photo: Drake University
Iowa Stops Hunger is an ongoing Business Publications Corp. initiative to raise awareness about food insecurity in Iowa and inspire action to combat it.
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