Mission
To provide educational opportunities and resources to address hunger in our Jewish community at its roots, with a focus on healthy and sustainable practices.
What We Do:
- Grow a wide variety of delicious, culturally appropriate fruits, vegetables, and herbs on over an acre of land
- Host a weekly Garden Fresh Distribution during the growing season, where over 60 client households get to choose from an assortment of fresh, local produce each week
- Offer classes on garden and food-related topics, ranging from garden planning to mushroom and microgreen growing to food preservation, and beyond
- Offer a Garden Resource Program making seeds, transplants, compost, and a tool share available to clients and the community at large. This program helped over 220 households grow their own gardens in 2025!
- Utilize the greenhouse to continue growing nutrient-dense foods in the winter, including microgreens and mushrooms
Where We Grow:
- The Geri Lester greenhouse in front of the building
- Around Yad Ezra’s building including the Diaspora Garden, Havdallah Garden, Pollinator Garden, and accessible raised beds in front
- Genesis Gardens next to Our Lady of LaSalette Church at 2600 Harvard Rd.
- On the north side of Harvard Rd. we grow perennial plants, trees, and berries that come back every year
- On the south side of Harvard Rd. we grow annual vegetables and herbs
Who we are:
Giving Gardens is stewarded by 2 full time staff, a crew of wonderful interns during the summer, and a dedicated core of volunteers all year round.
“The purpose of the Giving Gardens project is to merge the best that a hunger relief social service agency (like Yad Ezra) provides, with the passion, innovation and education components found in social justice work. Broadening our volunteer base to include those interested in farming and food systems enables us to expand awareness about the needs of those living in SE Michigan who are food insecure. Giving Gardens has already made strong partnerships with agencies in SE Michigan dedicated to hunger relief, sustainability and growing locally.
While Yad Ezra continues to provide free, healthy groceries to food insecure families living in SE Michigan, our hope is to raise awareness and educate volunteers, clients and supporters by bringing them together to experience the benefits of planting and harvesting produce. We are mindful of our Jewish heritage, the connection and importance that Judaism dictates to us to help and educate those in need as well as the opportunities which are being provided to view food and hunger issues more holistically.”
– Lea Luger
Executive Director emeritus at the dedication of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation Giving Gardens project featuring the Geri Lester Greenhouse (2016)
Community Partnerships
Strategic Collaborations
Giving Gardens is immensely grateful to Our Lady of LaSalette Church for allowing us to grow on over an acre of their land, just a few blocks from Yad Ezra. This makes up a significant portion of our growing space and has increased our production exponentially.
Thanks to a strategic donor investment, we purchase harvest shares from Adamah Farms in Detroit to supplement our weekly produce distribution. This innovative program provides fresh, local produce to food-insecure Jewish families, supplementing their regular grocery distributions. For every two shares purchased, the farm provides an additional share for food insecure families in Detroit.
We are thrilled to be in relationship with Growing Pontiac – a wonderful community resource – with whom we offer garden and food-related classes in both Berkley and Pontiac.
We continue to develop partnerships with community organizations, farms, nonprofits, and businesses that enhance our service capacity. Beyond increasing food production, these relationships serve as interfaith and community bridge-builders, creating meaningful connections across diverse populations throughout Southeast Michigan.