Saxpatch Community Garden
Our garden aims to provide a space for the community to garden cooperatively using organic methods, share fresh produce with members of our community experiencing food insecurity, and partner with local farms, schools, and members of the gardening community to offer workshops and demonstrations.
Community Work Days
Wednesday 4-530 pm
Saturday 10-12 am
Garden tasks include: sowing seeds, weeding, watering, transplanting, bed preparation, compost building, invasive plant removal, trellising/staking etc.
Tools will be provided.
Community in Action
At the heart of our garden is a community united by the shared goal of nurturing both the land and each other. Together, we tend the garden, growing fresh, organic produce to help those in need.
Growing Connections
By working side by side, we cultivate not only fresh produce but also meaningful relationships. The garden inspires a cycle of care and education that enriches our community far beyond the harvest.
Supporting SAFE
We donate fresh produce twice weekly to Southern Alamance Family Empowerment (SAFE). These donations provide essential nourishment to local families experiencing food insecurity.
The Power of Teaching
By sharing techniques, recipes, and sustainable practices, we create a space where knowledge flows freely, benefiting individuals and the entire community.
Cultivating Knowledge
Our garden is more than just a place to grow food—it’s a space where we share skills and knowledge about gardening, food, and nutrition. Together, we empower one another to make healthier, informed choices.
Nourishing Growth
Through tending the land, we develop patience, resilience, and a deeper appreciation for the food that sustains us.
Food Security
Access to fresh produce can be hard to come by in today’s world of escalating food prices. Too many individuals and families in southern Alamance County suffer from not enough fresh food. Sax Patch is committed to responding to this crisis. During harvest seasons we make twice-weekly donations to a local food bank—Southern Alamance Family Empowerment (SAFE)—where clients can pick up vegetables immediately after they’re harvested.
We also hold workshops with local school groups and with Sprout!, a local farm offering preschool and after-school vegetable gardening opportunities, among other activities. Going forward we plan to offer cooking demonstrations and provide recipes as a how-to approach to vegetables grown in the garden.
Our History
The garden sits on a bluff above the Haw River in Southern Alamance county, an area once inhabited by the Sissipihaw Indians, members of the Saponi Nation. Like many Indigenous communities in the Americas, the arrival of European settlers violently disrupted the Sissipihaw's way of life. As we continue to grow the garden, we are actively exploring opportunities to acknowledge and honor the human history of Saxapahaw, to educate our member base about this history, and to engage respectfully with the local Indigenous community.
Sax Patch began as a volunteer effort in early 2021, when community members came together to donate use of land, water, and materials. We broke ground that spring and completed construction just in time for fall planting. During fall season, news of the garden spread throughout the community, volunteers between the ages of 4-80 began tending new crops, harvests were donated to local food banks twice weekly, and partnership with the Sprout! community was forged.
Sax Patch gardeners meet quarterly. A leadership team meets monthly. Projects on the books at present include a tool shed with potting area and expanding the garden to accommodate 10 new beds. We plan to host another community event during warm weather where recipes prepared from garden produce, live music, and cooking demonstrations are planned. We continue to build on our good relationship with the Hawbridge School; currently, we collaborate on a compost project. Machhaven Farm now grows many of our seedlings, Haw River Mushrooms donates mushroom compost, and the Eddy Pub is sponsoring a fundraiser for the garden.
Community Work Days
Monday 4-6 pm
Saturday 10-12 am
Garden tasks include: sowing seeds, weeding, watering, transplanting, bed preparation, compost building, invasive plant removal, trellising/staking etc.
Tools will be provided.
“Having a farm plot has taught my kids invaluable lessons about food, community and ecology.”
— Jennifer W.