Reach Unlimited and members of the Cypress Community Garden Network (CCGN) provided 7,783 pounds — almost four tons of fresh food! — last year to Cypress-area families in need, thanks to a unique collaboration of gardens as well as vital donations from Triple-S Compost to support sustainable food production.

Rossana Gonzalez, Reach Greenhouse coordinator and CCGN administrator, thanked Triple-S Compost for the continued compost donations and explained how expanding the garden network increases the power of the collective effort.

In its mission to support the disabled community, Gonzalez said, the Reach Greenhouse supplies approximately 1,800 plant starts annually to the CCGN gardens, which in turn send thousands of pounds of fresh produce to local food banks and the underserved. The newest member of the garden network is Abba’s House, whose garden feeds the refugee families it serves while providing hand-on employment skills as they assimilate to life in this country.

“The numbers and results for each garden are impressive on their own,” Gonzalez said, “but when I think that it all starts with a handful of compost, a seed, and the willingness of one person after another to help it grow, and then putting the fruits of those efforts in the hands of someone suffering from hunger or economic hardship, that’s when I get amazed and grateful for the power of building community and cultivating a spirit of giving.”

Triple-S Compost donates compost directly to two CCGN gardens — St. John Lutheran Church and Abba’s House — as well as to the Reach Greenhouse.

Open Garden Day

Saturday April 25 is the third annual Open Garden Day, a progressive tour of participating Cypress community gardens and the Reach Greenhouse that showcases each community garden and how the collaboration works. Participants begin at the greenhouse and receive a map and instructions to visit each garden. At the end of the tour, participants can take home a free herb, tomato and annual planted in Triple-S compost, with instructions and encouragement to begin their own gardening journey. 

Beneficial partnership

Triple-S’s journey to support community gardening and sustainable food production in Cypress dates back to 2021 when the company began supplying waste-recycled compost at St. John Lutheran Church, a new-construction community garden. The success and speed of St. John’s first harvest were undeniable, with garden organizers taking notice and spreading the word about the benefits of Triple-S’s green-waste recycled compost.

In 2023, Triple-S began supplying compost to the Reach Unlimited Greenhouse, the vital hub that connects CCGN members. Rather than starting from seed, community gardens begin with plant starts grown at Reach, in exchange for volunteer hours at the greenhouse. Reach is supported with valuable manpower, the gardens improve their harvests and accelerate production cycles, and food banks are able to distribute more fresh food to more people in need.

Triple-S Compost’s Jonathan Holub said Triple-S has been thrilled to get more involved. “It’s our honor to expand our support of this amazing success story in Cypress,” he said. “Each organization accomplishes so much individually, but by working together the results are even more remarkable. From the staff and teams at each location to every single garden volunteer, we appreciate the commitment and hard work of everyone involved to make a real difference in and around Cypress.”

Formed in 2020 to further the community garden movement in Cypress, the Cypress Community Garden Network’s mission takes a holistic approach to community gardening using six principles: sharing resources, best practices, volunteer opportunities, supporting local businesses and education. Open Garden Day, sponsored by Reach and the CCGN, is an annual community outreach event in service of this mission, bringing awareness to community gardening, the Reach Greenhouse, the individual gardens and organizations, and the food banks they support.

Gonzalez said she could not be prouder of the accomplishments of the CCGN last year — and the impact of the collective efforts. “The individual gardens are thriving, and working together through the garden network allows us to provide even more fresh, healthy food to families in need. It’s truly beyond our expectations!”

We couldn’t agree more! Check out Open Garden Day this Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m. to noon beginning at the Reach Unlimited Greenhouse, 11832 Mueller Cemetery Road in Cypress.