USDA People's Garden at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace

Harvesting the People's Garden at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace

NPS

News Release Date: October 25, 2013

Contact: William T. Justice, 270-358-3137

Contact: Steve Meredith, 270-872-7826

On September 30, students from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, LaRue County High School Future Farmers of America Members, Kentucky FFA President Brian Chism, and garden sponsor Steve Meredith gathered with National Park Service employees to harvest the first-ever USDA People's Garden at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

The USDA People's Garden Initiative is a tribute to the 16th President, who created the USDA in 1862. In tribute to Lincoln's agricultural legacy, volunteers planted, cultivated, and harvested a spectacular 1,500 square foot garden, which included corn, pumpkin, and bean varieties from the Lincoln childhood era, along with modern varieties of tomatoes, butternut squash, cucumbers, and okra. The outer fence carried a vine display of various gourds commonly used as storage and drinking containers on the Kentucky frontier. Edible produce was donated to a local church food bank.

In addition to volunteer labor, the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace garden was sponsored by Keep American Beautiful, Kentucky FFA, and the National Park Service.

For more information on the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, visit the park's website at: https://www.nps.gov/abli or the park Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LincolnBirthplaceNPS.