Watershed group plans food bank and garden

A food bank and a community garden are set to open early in 2010, announced Brynn Nolan, executive director of the Cottonwood Creek Watershed Group.

The garden will be free for use by area residents and large enough to provide additional produce for the group's proposed food bank, Nolan said. The garden's location has not yet been decided, however.

The proposed food bank to serve Cottonwood is also in its planning stages, Nolan said, indicating that several volunteers are needed to help with fund raising, inventory, finding people in need of food and the solicitation of goods to keep the pantry stocked.

The garden and food bank project both revolve around sustaining agriculture, Nolan said.

The group currently has 13 open grants, she said, including two for fuel breaks on Tedoc Mountain and another in the Platina community.

Another grant for $11,932 provides for the removal of noxious weeds and garbage around Crowley Gulch - the ditch alongside Cottonwood Community Park. The group will then plant native plants to replace the weeds, Nolan said.