Hope's Garden Gets New Life At New Location

WHEATON, IL — Baby Hope's Garden is bringing new life in a new home. The garden, planted in memory of Baby Hope by DuPage County inmates, has moved to a new location and is expected to grow as much as 1,500 pounds of produce in its first year, according to a news release from DuPage County Sheriff's Office.

Hope's Garden's new location occupies a former dog run on the north end of the DuPage County Sheriff's Office's property. The garden, which is made up of raised garden beds that will be tended by inmates, will be populated with 75 tomato plants, 75 pepper plants, zucchini, cucumber and herbs.

Once they're ready, the food items will be donated to families in need.

DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick said in a statement, "With everyone focusing on the negative lately, it’s nice to have a day to focus on pure positivity. It’s another arrow in our quiver for mental health and addiction therapy and it’s going to generate a whole crop of food source to be able to be donated.”

In the near future, Mendrick also wants to add garden pods in this new, larger location that will be tended by local veterans and groups that benefit special needs organizations and other community groups.

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“Anything we can do that includes a therapeutic component to help our inmates, it goes toward our mission of helping inmates overcome the issues that brought them here in the first place,” said JUST DuPage Executive Director Michael Beary.

He added, “The therapeutic aspect of gardening and growing things and nurturing things and getting outdoors is so important at this stage."