A note from your AEB Chair: 

Hey There Alum!  

I am writing with good news about the Hood College/Frederick Health (FH) Community Resource Garden... as many of us will soon be getting ready for our 2026 growing season.    

In 2017, Hood and FH partnered to create the community garden to improve food security, reduce water pollution and promote environmental stewardship.  The garden is nurtured by more than 100 volunteers from Hood, including alum/faculty/staff, and FH, and sustained by pollinators - in fact, 20% of the garden is actually dedicated to pollinators.  Volunteer teams are created each year to support spring and fall planting seasons, and work from May through October – my team, ALL THUMBS, has been volunteering since 2017!  

For the past two years, I have been fortunate to be on the smaller team that works in the garden on an almost daily basis from May through October to ensure the plots are ready for planting seeds/seedlings in May, and to support the volunteers with weeding, harvesting and delivering the bounty to Frederick residents.  We also work with Hood faculty and Institutional Advancement and FH leadership to obtain additional grant funding for garden enhancements.  This year, we were fortunate to receive grant funding to support enhanced garden fencing, a more efficient watering system, and apple and fig trees.   

Since the 2017 launch, the garden has produced more than 10,000 pounds of fresh vegetables and herbs, all donated to Frederick residents experiencing food insecurity.  Tomatoes, squash, potatoes, cucumbers, herbs and more are donated to the Frederick Rescue Mission each year.  With continued support, the garden will expand and share even more healthy produce with the community!  

Given the ongoing enhancements and productivity of the garden, Hood faculty and students are becoming more engaged with the garden activities. For example, a senior intern was assigned to the garden, a handful of research projects were conducted, and the women's soccer team helped winterize the garden as their service project with “Rev Beth” [Reverend Beth O’Malley, Dean of Coffman Chapel]. We are anticipating many more educational opportunities to be made available by this community garden, including a “back to class” talk and tour during Reunion Weekend on June 5.

I hope this coming spring brings lots of sunshine and rain to nourish whatever you may be planting. 

Happy growing! 

Joy Miller Beveridge '82