city_hall

Official websites use .boston.gov

A .boston.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the City of Boston.

lock

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Last updated:

Raised Bed Program

The raised bed program constructs raised beds for low income residents between 2023-26.

Toggle
Page Sections
About the Program

In 2021, the Office of Food Justice (OFJ) started a Food Sovereignty pilot program to  provide grant funding for urban farming organizations to install raised bed gardens for people across Boston. The success of this pilot program led to GrowBoston’s Raised Bed Gardens and Gardening Education program.

In 2023, GrowBoston launched the Raised Bed Gardens and Gardening Education Grant Program using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In collaboration with OFJ, GrowBoston is partnering with local organizations to build raised bed gardens and provide gardening education to low-income Boston residents. The goal of this program is to make neighborhood food systems stronger, offer new local food sources for low-income households, build community through gardening, and help individuals and families to grow more food.

Builder Selection and Process

In GrowBoston’s first round of building between 2023-24, four organizations were chosen through a public Request for Proposals (RFP) process. First-round grantees include The Food Project (Dorchester), Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Inc. (East Boston), Round Table, Inc. (South Boston), and We Grow Microgreens (Hyde Park). 

In the second and final round, six organizations were chosen to build the remaining raised bed gardens. The following organizations were chosen through a grant process:

  • MissionSafe: Constructing 12 raised-bed gardens in the Fields Corner area of Dorchester in partnership with VietAID and ADSL for  low-income households and organizational usage.
  • YouthBuild: Constructing 80 double-height and 20 elevated raised-bed gardens for low-income households and public facilities, constructed through their youth employment program. 
  • Green City Growers: Constructing 175 raised-bed gardens for low-income households across the city.
  • Urban Farming Institute: Constructing raised-bed gardens for 40 low-income households in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.
  • The Food Project: Constructing raised-bed gardens for 200 low-income households in Roxbury and Dorchester through their Build-a-Garden program, employing youth. and engaging volunteers. 
  • Brighton Allston Congregational Church: Constructing 5 raised-bed gardens on church property to grow and distribute food through their on-site food pantry, which is open to the public.

Builders first contact recipients to schedule an initial site visit. During this site visit, they will walk through a checklist of questions in order to identify the right location for the garden bed. Next, they will schedule an installation date. They will build the garden bed at a separate location and will bring the finished bed, along with soil to your home.

Beds built as of May 2025: 390

Recipient Selection and Education

Individuals

We are partnering with the Office of Food Justice (OFJ) to screen and refer individuals to the Raised Bed Program. Eligible recipients are low-income individuals based in neighborhoods most affected by food insecurity in Boston. Residents are primarily referred through OFJ’s partnering organizations (Bowdoin Street and Brookside Community Health Centers, and Camfield Estates), or through direct involvement with one of the above grantee organizations. 

If you are interested in receiving a raised bed and think you may be eligible, click the button to the right. For more information, here is an informational sheet about what you can expect from this program. Please note that completing the form does not guarantee installation as capacity is limited.

 

Link to Resident form

 

Organizations

We are building raised beds for select non-profit organizations that align with our values of increasing food-security for low-income neighborhoods and building neighborhood food systems. If your organization is interested in receiving raised beds, click the button to the right. For more information, here is an informational sheet about what you can expect from this program. Please note that completing the form does not guarantee installation, as capacity is limited.

Public Facilities

In addition to building beds for residents and organizations, our program provides garden beds for public facilities as well. This includes community centers,  libraries, and public housing communities. Gardens at public facilities will provide opportunities for individuals and families to learn how to garden alongside others. 

 

Link to Organizational form

Education 

Through our new Urban Agriculture Ambassador program, GrowBoston will provide garden education, technical assistance, and support for residents at home gardens, community gardens, and public facilities with a focus on equity and cultural relevance. Raised bed recipients will be connected directly with an Ambassador who will provide 1:1 support to support their gardening knowledge. The goal of this education is to provide residents with the skills and knowledge to successfully tend to their gardens and to feel confident in their ability to grow food sustainably. 

Project Highlights

The Food Project Raised Bed Photo
Dorchester/Roxbury/Mattapan: The Food Project’s Build-a-Garden Program employs high-school students to build raised beds for residents. They have constructed 100 beds as of July 2024.

Raised Bed
South Boston: Round Table, Inc., serves affordable housing residents at Mary Ellen McCormack public housing complex in South Boston. They have built 60 individual beds on the grounds of the housing complex and have provided educational programming.

WeGrowMicrogreens Raised Beds
Mattapan/Hyde Park: We Grow Microgreens hired Northeastern co-op students who have built 59 beds to date. They also provided two beginner gardening workshops to help residents to grow their own food.

NOAH Raised Beds
East Boston: Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) has involved volunteers in the construction of 67 garden beds to date.

Raised Bed Program Timeline

Timeline Fall 2024 Update

  • 2021: The Office of Food Justice (OFJ) launched a $300,000 pilot food Sovereignty Grant which provided funding to urban farming grantees to install raised bed gardens across Boston. This laid the foundation for GrowBoston’s program. 
  • Summer 2023: GrowBoston’s Raised Bed Program began, with selected partnersThe Food Project, Round Table, Inc., We Grow Microgreens, and NOAH, Inc. The Office of Food Justice began recruiting low-income residents interested in receiving a bed.
  • Fall 2023: Our partners navigated challenges of rainy summer weather, training staff and volunteers, transporting materials, and the hard physical labor of lugging soil, in order to build 110 beds by early October.
  • Winter 2024: By February, 144 beds were complete. Partners are taking a break from building beds over the cold winter months. They are focusing on the recruitment process in order to reach interested residents. Two of the four organizations have completed educational workshops with garden bed recipients.
  • Spring 2024:  Partner constructed a total of 286 raised beds for low-income, Boston residents and provided residents with hands-on education and seedlings to get started in their gardens. 
  • Fall 2024: GrowBoston selected six new organizations to construct the remaining 514 garden beds. This work will be carried out between Fall 2024 - Fall 2026.

Who's Involved:

GrowBoston
617-635-3880
Provide Your Feedback
Back to top