Wasatch Community Gardens is advancing its urban farming initiative with help from an unlikely collaborator, Tito’s Handmade Vodka based in Austin, Texas. For four years now, the spirits brand team members have assisted in the garden, helping to enhance its ability to deliver fresh produce to those in the community who are in need.

Wasatch Community Garden is one of many places that Tito’s has assisted over the years, thanks to its Block-to-Block program. The program has blossomed into a nationwide success, but like most programs, it started small. Per Tito’s website:

“The idea started in our own backyard: make fresh food accessible for Tito’s team members. We built the Fourteen Acres Farm (in Texas) to do just that, creating an environment where fresh produce is easily accessible. From a no cost farmers market, to lunch cooked onsite using fresh produce from the farm, inspiration to eat well is everywhere you turn.”

Following the success of Fourteen Acres Farm, Tito’s decided to expand their efforts, creating Tito’s Block-to-Block, a program that seeks to help communities expand their ability to provide fresh produce to various communities. Tito’s has since partnered with various community gardens and nonprofits across the country, helping to bring education and resources to farmers, gardeners and community members alike.

This past June, Tito’s and Wasatch Community Garden came together once more, for a service day where volunteers worked alongside one another. This year one of the main goals was to build infrastructure designed to expand the garden’s food production capabilities. This included constructing a paved outdoor kitchen area, tending seedlings in the greenhouse, and preparing various garden beds for planting. These projects were all designed to help the farm reach its ultimate goal of becoming fully operational.

During their four years of partnership, Tito’s and the garden have accomplished a lot, including launching two new community gardens, building a greenhouse and revitalizing the Green Phoenix Farm in 2022. The following year in 2023, they began the initial transition to the new City Farm site. This was done by preparing the necessary materials and plants for transport. In 2024, they continued to carry out the second phase of the project by laying the structural groundwork for the ongoing relocation. 

  “This farm was built with plenty of people power. Whether it’s volunteers, donors, community partners,” said Katie Dwyer, the executive director of the garden. “They’ve helped us in our community garden spaces. They’ve also come to our old farm location to help build a greenhouse. They helped us move that location across town to this new site last year, and they’ll be helping us build a paved, outdoor kitchen.”

The kitchen will help the garden tremendously, serving as a space for volunteers to teach classes, such as how people can learn how to prepare and preserve the food they grow in their home gardens. The classes are yet another way that the garden hopes they can bring in more members of the community and make them aware of all the space has to offer. 

This year’s day of service saw volunteers helping to transform a food preparation area, build a 900-square-foot patio, prep garden beds and complete various tasks around the farm. 

Per the event’s media release, “Food grown at the City Farm will be incorporated into daily meals for Wasatch Community Gardens program participants and distributed to community service organizations that provide meals and fresh produce to 1,000 low-income individuals and families in the area. The updated farm will also help Wasatch Community Gardens continue to serve the surrounding community. Annually, their programs and events serve over 13,000 people (about 50% coming from low- and moderate-income households) with the help of their dedicated volunteers. Last year, in 2024, 2,365 volunteers contributed 8,917 hours in support of the nonprofit and community members served.”

With another day of service in the rearview mirror, Wasatch Community Garden looks forward to more collaborations with Tito’s in the future, as they work toward securing City Farm as a pillar of food assistance in the community. 

As Dwyer said, “Gardens and the sharing of food are what build community connections.”

This year marks the fourth in which Tito’s has helped Wasatch Community Gardens as part of its Block-to-Block program. (Tito’s)