Shiloh Field is the largest community garden in the nation, and it resides about 10 minutes from the Denton Square. The garden was founded in 2011 by a local named Gene Gumfory, who had a mission to feed the hungry in Denton completely free of charge.
14 years later, the entirely volunteer-run garden still works to keep Gumfory’s original goal alive. Tim Sutton, current board member and garden administrator of Shiloh Field, said the garden and its community have only grown in recent years.
In 2023, the garden had to cut the only member of its paid staff due to the rising water costs it took to keep the garden alive during the summer. Sutton said that while money is still tight and volunteers have had to step up, they should be out of the worst of it.
Besides its goal to feed Denton’s hungry by donating to local shelters and food pantries, the garden also allows locals to tend their own individual plots free of charge. To receive a plot, the only requirement is keeping the area tidy and putting in a few volunteer hours to help the garden.
Like Sutton, many of the current volunteers started as gardening novices who were interested in an individual plot before becoming more involved with the garden and its continuing message of helping the community.