DENVER - The goal is 1,500 pounds of produce and to make it happen, volunteers will be planting vegetable gardens in some of Denver's most popular parks this weekend.
Everything that is grown will be donated to local food banks.
One of the parks getting a garden is Observatory Park near the University of Denver. There will be seven gardens around Denver.
A family that lives near Observatory Park has offered to help tend the vegetables.
The program is a partnership with Grow Local Colorado and the City Parks and Rec department. The city actually saves money by putting veggies in the flower beds.
"They don't have to grow as many flowers in the greenhouse. They don't have to have as many people to take care of them. We do it for them in a very wonderful collaboration," Dana Miller with Grow Local Colorado said. "It is not only really important for the communities in need that we donate the food to, we at Grow Local Colorado are also suggesting that people grow their own food and donate a portion of that food to local communities in need.
Last year's harvest from the gardens in Denver's parks was 500 pounds of food. This year's goal is three times that.
A lot of people wonder about security, but in the three years of this program, the only problems have been from thieves at Harvey Park, and those thieves have wings. They are geese who apparently have a real taste for chard.
Miller says they've also lost a few cherry tomatoes that people have picked as they've passed by; but overall, she says people respected the gardens knowing what is growing is for people who might not eat otherwise.
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