On February 12, 2009 — Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack walked outside USDA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., picked up a shovel, and broke ground on something modest in scale but ambitious in idea: a garden on the lawn of the federal agency Lincoln himself had nicknamed “The People’s Department.” When Lincoln established the Department of Agriculture in 1862, he called it “The People’s Department” because he envisioned it as a resource for ordinary American farmers, not for the powerful and wealthy.
The first People’s Garden was a bet that something small and tangible could reconnect a sprawling bureaucracy to its original mission — and reconnect communities to their food. Over the years that followed, that single garden grew into a national initiative spanning more than 2,000 registered gardens across the United States, its territories, and 12 foreign countries.
The USDA People’s Garden Initiative is a federally administered program that works to expand community gardening, food access, pollinator habitat, conservation education, and climate resilience by connecting local gardens with federal resources, technical assistance, and public recognition.
Mission & Origin
The program began as an internal challenge to USDA employees: create gardens at USDA facilities, donate the produce, and demonstrate the values the department was supposed to represent. That internal initiative quickly evolved into something broader. By the program’s third anniversary in 2012, thousands of USDA employees and more than 700 local and national organizations were participating in over 1,500 gardens nationwide.
The initiative was formally renewed and significantly expanded in May 2022, when Secretary Vilsack — serving again in that role under the Biden administration — planted a tree at the redesigned USDA Headquarters garden flanking the National Mall to announce a new phase of the program. The rebuilt headquarters garden added ADA-accessible raised beds, a pollinator garden, and a food forest. Seventeen flagship gardens in urban communities nationwide were designated as anchor hubs in cities. In September 2022, the initiative opened registration to eligible community gardens, school gardens, urban farms, and small-scale agriculture projects nationwide — dramatically expanding the program’s footprint beyond federal property.
The initiative’s goals, as stated by USDA, are to:
- Engage communities to grow fresh, healthy food and support resilient local food systems
- Teach people how to garden using conservation practices
- Nurture habitat for pollinators, wildlife, and green space for neighbors to gather and enjoy
Programs & Impact
The Registered People’s Garden Network
The backbone of the initiative is its national network of registered gardens. Any school garden, community garden, urban farm, or small-scale agriculture project — in rural, suburban, or urban areas — can apply for recognition as a People’s Garden if it meets four criteria:
- Benefit the community by providing food, green space, wildlife habitat, or education
- Be a collaborative effort involving multiple partners or organizations
- Incorporate conservation management practices such as native plantings, rain barrels, integrated pest management, or xeriscaping
- Educate the public about sustainable gardening and local food systems
Gardens that meet the criteria and register on the USDA website are:
- Listed on an interactive national map
- Featured in USDA communications
- Provided with an official People’s Garden sign
- Connected to the Extension Foundation’s Connect platform
Gardens on federal property are required to donate their produce to local communities; community gardens and farms are invited to report their donations as well.
Flagship Urban Gardens and Urban Agriculture Investment
When USDA renewed the initiative in 2022, it paired the expanded garden network with a structural investment in urban agriculture: establishing Urban Service Centers and County Committees for Urban Agriculture in 17 cities, each anchored by a flagship People’s Garden. These flagship gardens serve as demonstration and community gathering sites in cities with historically limited access to fresh produce and green space.
The 17 flagship cities were selected to reflect the breadth of American urban communities and to anchor USDA’s growing commitment to urban and peri-urban agriculture as a serious component of food policy. Click on the flagship cities listed below to see the scope and impact of each of these programs.
Conservation Grants Through the Five Star and Urban Waters Partnership
One of the initiative’s most concrete funding mechanisms is its annual partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) through the Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration grant program. Through this partnership, the People’s Garden Initiative has channeled grant funding directly to community-based gardens that promote sustainable agriculture, wildlife habitat, and conservation education.
In the 2024 cycle, approximately $500,000 in People’s Garden funding was made available through the NFWF program. The 2025 cycle doubled that to approximately $1 million, with individual grant awards ranging from $30,000 to $60,000 per project. Eligible applicants include nonprofit 501(c) organizations, state and local governments, Tribal Governments and Organizations, and educational institutions. Projects must provide measurable ecological, educational, and community benefits — and must support conservation of fish, wildlife, and habitat, including at-risk species like migratory birds and pollinators. Gardens do not need to be pre-registered as People’s Gardens to apply, though successful applicants are asked to register upon receiving awards.
Conservation Education and the Extension Foundation Connect Platform
A less visible but significant component of the initiative is its investment in knowledge-sharing across the garden network. Registered People’s Gardens gain access to the Extension Foundation Connect platform, a structured online community where garden managers can share resources, ask questions, and connect with USDA staff and fellow gardeners across the country.
USDA also provides a webinar series on starting and maintaining a community garden that benefits the public — practical, free support for organizations that may be building their gardening capacity from scratch.
At the USDA Headquarters garden itself, the educational function has been explicit from the beginning. The garden — now featuring ADA-accessible beds, a food forest, and container-growing demonstrations for small urban spaces — is designed to showcase what sustainable urban gardening looks like in practice, for the millions of people who pass through or near the National Mall each year.
Financial Snapshot
The People’s Garden Initiative is a program of the federal government, administered through USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. Its funding comes through USDA’s broader appropriations and through specific partnership vehicles like the NFWF Five Star and Urban Waters program.
It is important to note that the broader USDA context has shifted significantly since the initiative’s 2022 expansion. In 2025, more than 20,000 USDA employees departed through firings, buyouts, and attrition under the administration’s cost-reduction efforts, and approximately $2.5 billion in USDA grant terminations were announced. Programs specifically supporting local food systems and urban agriculture faced reductions. The People’s Garden Initiative’s current operational status and the availability of future grant cycles are subject to federal budget decisions and should be confirmed directly with USDA before organizations plan around them. The USDA webpage for the People’s Garden Initiative remains active at usda.gov/peoples-garden as of this writing, and the Five Star and Urban Waters grant partnership was active through the January 2025 application cycle.
How to Get Involved
The People’s Garden Initiative is, at its core, an open network — and participation doesn’t require a large budget, a federal connection, or agricultural expertise. Here are five ways to engage.
1. Register your garden. If you manage or are part of a school garden, community garden, urban farm, or small-scale agricultural project that meets the program’s four criteria — community benefit, collaboration, conservation practices, and public education — you can register at usda.gov/peoples-garden. Registered gardens receive an official People’s Garden sign, placement on the national interactive map, and access to the Extension Foundation Connect network.
2. Visit and volunteer at your nearest People’s Garden. The USDA interactive map at usda.gov/peoples-garden shows registered gardens by location. Many of these gardens actively seek volunteers for planting, weeding, harvesting, and educational events. Reaching out to a nearby registered garden is one of the most direct ways to put your hands in the soil and support the initiative’s local food and community goals.
3. Connect through the Extension Foundation platform. Registered gardens have access to the Extension Foundation Connect platform at connect.extension.org/peoples-garden — a practical tool for sharing resources, troubleshooting challenges, and learning from gardens across the country. Even before you register, the platform offers useful public resources on sustainable gardening and food systems.
4. Watch for the NFWF Five Star and Urban Waters grant cycle. Nonprofit organizations, local governments, Tribal organizations, and educational institutions running community gardens can apply for People’s Garden grant funding through the annual NFWF Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program. Awards have ranged from $30,000 to $60,000 per project. Check nfwf.org and the USDA People’s Garden page for current-cycle announcements, keeping in mind that funding availability may shift with federal budget changes.
5. Follow USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. This office is the administrative home of the People’s Garden Initiative and publishes updates, funding announcements, and educational resources. Signing up for their newsletter through the People’s Garden webpage is the most reliable way to stay current on program news, new resources, and any changes to grant availability or registration.
For more information, visit the USDA People’s Garden Initiative at usda.gov/peoples-garden or contact USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production through the USDA website.
