Our Welcome Center on 3701 Prast Blvd hosts our sharing area, where community partners & individuals donate food, produce, and more. Stop by to grab what you need! You're always welcome to call our building ahead of time to see what's available (574-222-2266).
You can help keep this stocked! We accept donations of fresh produce & shelf stable items. Just come drop it off at 3701 Prast Blvd!
Huge Thank You to our Contributing Partners:
Why We Don't Limit (12/9/2025):
We’ve seen many comments suggesting that Unity Gardens place limits on the food people receive from us. We want to acknowledge these concerns, but free access is a conscious choice that Unity Gardens has made and we want to share why we’ve made this decision:
Unity Gardens was initially formed to connect our community to fresh food. As we’ve grown, however, we’ve found that much of our impact falls in a different arena: that of community building. The relationships at Unity Gardens are just as important, if not more than the food we distribute. There are many, many organizations that distribute food. These organizations, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, and food rescue programs are all working diligently on the issue of food access. Many of them have become our partners who help stock our pantry and sharing fridges. Their primary goal is to get the most food to the most people, and they set limits and qualifications as a result. Our primary goal is different. Our primary goal is to meet each individual who visits the garden where they’re at and build trust and a relationship as a result. Rather than assuming we know best for someone whose circumstances we know nothing of, we want to offer our services freely and trust that people will take what they need.
And the reality is, the vast majority of people who visit Unity Gardens do not take too much. They take what is right for them, for their families, for their neighbors, for their friends. The individuals who may seem to overfill their car trunks, when engaged in conversation, share that they are distributing the watermelon to their disabled neighbors who can’t drive over, or their friend who has three kids and works hours that don’t coincide with the pantries. This may seem like they’re taking more than their fair share, but this is actually what strengthens our community - when individuals come together to look out for each other. Additionally, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of individuals visiting our garden. Last year, we had about 8,000 garden visitors. This year so far, we’ve seen more than 17,000. Within an hour of posting food available, it’s not unusual to have hundreds of people stop through.
And for that small percentage who may take more than they need, it’s important to think about why they do so. Often, it comes from a place of fear and of not having enough. This scarcity mindset can only be adjusted when they realize that Unity will still be here tomorrow, growing and sharing food. We often do see in the garden a repeat visitor who starts with taking more than expected and then adjusts when they realize we won’t make that decision for them and will always offer what we have.
There is always a small percentage who may take advantage of the system. They will exist in every community. In our case, they represent less than 1%. Do we find that it is so important to regulate that one individual that we would risk the relationship of a hundred others? In Unity’s case, our answer will always be no. Because there is always a cost to placing limitations and requiring sign-ins, both emotionally and logistically. One, of course, is capacity. Secondly though, the cost comes in treating individuals as “less than”. In thinking that we know their needs better than themselves, we add stigma and we add shame. In having to prove that they need the resource more than the individual behind them, we require people to bare their souls and present themselves for judgment. This is not a tradeoff we are willing to make.
Right now, our community is facing broader food insecurity. We recognize this need and have been working over the last seventeen years to address it in more and more ways. In August of last year, we partnered with Cultivate Food Rescue to receive excess food. In February of this year, we added a sharing fridge. In November, we added a freezer and an additional fridge and partnered with Clay Church Food Pantry. We plan on continuing this trajectory. As we develop this program, we will be able to offer more food, more reliably.
We know that this answer is unusual and atypical from how food pantries typically function. But it’s a conscious decision we’ve made, to place people’s dignity and community trust as a priority. If this is still a concern you hold and would like to discuss with us, our phone and email line is always available - (574)-315-4361/[email protected]. Thank you for being concerned about the food needs of each other!
We’ve seen many comments suggesting that Unity Gardens place limits on the food people receive from us. We want to acknowledge these concerns, but free access is a conscious choice that Unity Gardens has made and we want to share why we’ve made this decision:
Unity Gardens was initially formed to connect our community to fresh food. As we’ve grown, however, we’ve found that much of our impact falls in a different arena: that of community building. The relationships at Unity Gardens are just as important, if not more than the food we distribute. There are many, many organizations that distribute food. These organizations, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, and food rescue programs are all working diligently on the issue of food access. Many of them have become our partners who help stock our pantry and sharing fridges. Their primary goal is to get the most food to the most people, and they set limits and qualifications as a result. Our primary goal is different. Our primary goal is to meet each individual who visits the garden where they’re at and build trust and a relationship as a result. Rather than assuming we know best for someone whose circumstances we know nothing of, we want to offer our services freely and trust that people will take what they need.
And the reality is, the vast majority of people who visit Unity Gardens do not take too much. They take what is right for them, for their families, for their neighbors, for their friends. The individuals who may seem to overfill their car trunks, when engaged in conversation, share that they are distributing the watermelon to their disabled neighbors who can’t drive over, or their friend who has three kids and works hours that don’t coincide with the pantries. This may seem like they’re taking more than their fair share, but this is actually what strengthens our community - when individuals come together to look out for each other. Additionally, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of individuals visiting our garden. Last year, we had about 8,000 garden visitors. This year so far, we’ve seen more than 17,000. Within an hour of posting food available, it’s not unusual to have hundreds of people stop through.
And for that small percentage who may take more than they need, it’s important to think about why they do so. Often, it comes from a place of fear and of not having enough. This scarcity mindset can only be adjusted when they realize that Unity will still be here tomorrow, growing and sharing food. We often do see in the garden a repeat visitor who starts with taking more than expected and then adjusts when they realize we won’t make that decision for them and will always offer what we have.
There is always a small percentage who may take advantage of the system. They will exist in every community. In our case, they represent less than 1%. Do we find that it is so important to regulate that one individual that we would risk the relationship of a hundred others? In Unity’s case, our answer will always be no. Because there is always a cost to placing limitations and requiring sign-ins, both emotionally and logistically. One, of course, is capacity. Secondly though, the cost comes in treating individuals as “less than”. In thinking that we know their needs better than themselves, we add stigma and we add shame. In having to prove that they need the resource more than the individual behind them, we require people to bare their souls and present themselves for judgment. This is not a tradeoff we are willing to make.
Right now, our community is facing broader food insecurity. We recognize this need and have been working over the last seventeen years to address it in more and more ways. In August of last year, we partnered with Cultivate Food Rescue to receive excess food. In February of this year, we added a sharing fridge. In November, we added a freezer and an additional fridge and partnered with Clay Church Food Pantry. We plan on continuing this trajectory. As we develop this program, we will be able to offer more food, more reliably.
We know that this answer is unusual and atypical from how food pantries typically function. But it’s a conscious decision we’ve made, to place people’s dignity and community trust as a priority. If this is still a concern you hold and would like to discuss with us, our phone and email line is always available - (574)-315-4361/[email protected]. Thank you for being concerned about the food needs of each other!