Due to the Covd-19 related restrictions, Extension agents had to be creative in designing programs for the spring of 2021. It is no secret that the pandemic increased interest in home gardening and the demand for horticulture related resources. In order to meet this demand, while still ensuring the safety of her participants, Nikki Rhein, Marshall County's Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, decided to reduce the potential person-to-person exposure of traditional programming by offering “gardening grab bags.”  These free bags were designed for contactless pickup. They included gardening publications, seeds, how to guides and recipes specific to the types of seeds in the bag, tools, cooking utensils and more! The participating family’s completed surveys about their experiences. The findings relate to three topics: experience, health and financial wellbeing.

Experience
The bags were designed to meet all gardener’s needs, whether they are first time gardeners or seasoned veterans in the garden. The surveys revealed the bags actually introduced 29 new families to vegetable gardening, as well as improved the gardening knowledge of 102! Also, 57 families indicated that the experience and resources provided in the bags increased their confidence in making gardening decisions.
Health
Gardening is widely known for its health benefits. It is a low impact form of exercise that yields not only delicious but also nutritious rewards. The grab bag program participants agreed. 50 participating families indicated increasing physical activity, 71 indicated that they ate healthier foods and 48 indicated preparing healthier meals because of the yields from their grab bag gardens.
Financial Wellbeing
Can gardening help reduce bills? Extension Staff was surprised when 54 participating families indicated being able to reduce their grocery bills because of their grab bag gardens!

Nikki was delighted to see that the survey’s findings exposed a surprisingly substantial impact to the participating gardener’s knowledge base, health and budget. Due to its success, she intends to continue this programming format even after the pandemic.