Siouxland Magazine - Volume 5 Issue 3

Up From The Earth Is Beginning Its 10th Growing Season
By Up From The Earth
Up From the Earth is beginning its 10th growing
season and is celebrating as gardeners and
farmers grow extra garden produce to share
through our collection sites and pantries! We
made the connections, and this amazing community
has stepped up to work together to meet the needs.
Our program has evolved to meet the needs of the
community through the years while consistently growing
in pounds donated.
Siouxland Magazine | Collaborating / 37
We began in 2014 with a pilot program with a handful
of churches and pantries. Going into 2023’s season, we
have 40 local area collection sites and pantries. THANK
YOU ALL for stepping up.
In our early years, we received grants to help fund some
gardening tools for donation gardens. Throughout the
years, we have handed out seeds and seedlings often
grown by master gardeners to donate to individuals
and donation gardens. Our mission diversified to
include educating the public regarding healthy eating
of fresh vegetables and fruits, and how to grow some
vegetables in containers to have some “at home.” We
continue to educate the community on the needs in our
neighborhood to increase food security and develop an
awareness of what each of us can do to help. More and
more individuals come forward to donate each year.
We have partnered and collaborated with an array of
organizations working together to increase food security
in our community! This is a generous place to live!
In 2018 we introduced our garden mascot Zucchini Guy
to help us get our message out. In 2018, with the help
of a marketing professor and students at Morningside
University, our webpage was upgraded, and our logo
was reinvented. Currently, in 2023, we have added a QR
code on the website and posters around town. Take a
picture of that QR code,, and you will be taken directly
to our website, the list of collection sites and pantries,
the days they are open, and how to contact them. You
may contact us to donate or supplement what you need
to feed your family. Our Facebook page has a lot of
traffic thanks largely to the behind-the-scenes work of
Zucchini Guy (aka Mark Raymond). Annual Certificates
of Appreciation and frequent “Tip of the Trowel” on
Facebook help us recognize the wonderful people
sharing in our vision.
Z Guy at the Sioux City Farmers Market with manager Becky.
Randy Burnight, Mark Raymond, and Jenny Jorgensen, ISU
Woodbury County Extension and Outreach Master Gardeners
and Steering Team Committee members for Up From the Earth.
At St. James Methodist Vacation Bible School learning
about gardening from Jenny Jorgensen.
Up from the Earth exists to connect extra produce from
home gardens to people in need.