After donating nearly 10,000 servings of farm-fresh and healthy local produce to the Community Food Basket — Idaho Falls in 2022, Happyville Farm recently celebrated ribbon cuttings for two highly anticipated additions to its farm.

The farm, at 640 S. Saturn Ave., grows produce for low-income and food-insecure families in the Idaho Falls area and donates large portions of its crops to the Community Food Basket as well as to individual families in need.

The Nov. 12 ribbon cutting celebrated two of the farm’s grant-supported projects.

The first project is a shade structure funded by a $10,500 grant from the CHC foundation, a nonprofit organization that awards grants to publicly supported, tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations in the greater Eastern Idaho region. The structure was designed and built by local volunteers and with contributions from several local companies.

The shelter offers sun, rain, snow and wind protection for the many visitors, volunteers and students who come to learn and help at the farm.

Happyville Farm not only serves families in need of food but also serves as the school garden for many local students, providing hands-on learning about vegetables and nutrition, water conservation, beekeeping, soil science and more.

The second celebratory project is the planting of an “urban forest” which was given the Winnie-the-Pooh-inspired name, the “Quarter Acre Wood,” will benefit local children as well as the environment, increasing the number of trees in the area.

The forest will add a “woodland classroom” area as well, Happyville Farm Director Claudia Pine said.

The idea for the urban forest was introduced after many community members expressed concern about the abandoned dirt lots that children were playing in.

“Farm volunteers raced to plant over 120 trees and shrubs this fall, including bur oak, pine, gingko, catalpa, redbud and serviceberry,” Pine said. “The small forest will provide many ecosystem services as well as play space.”

All of the planting was made possible through a large grant received from an anonymous donor and substantial assistance from Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation Department and local volunteers.

Pine said the new shade structure and urban forest will help increase volunteering and community engagement while also making picking up food more enjoyable as there will be space to escape the weather and a safe space for children to congregate.

“These new projects have been such a testament to the dedication we all have to making our city a better place to live,” Pine said. “We are really building something here that will benefit the city for the foreseeable future.”

Farm officials and volunteers invite the public to gather under the farm’s new shade structure to celebrate completion of the project as well as the breaking of ground for the city’s first “urban forest.”

“I grew up in this neighborhood and played in all these vacant lots,” said Ty Bloxham, owner of TBX Aerospace in a news release from Happyville Farm. “It’s been great to give back by building this structure and supporting the farm.”

The farm is leased from the city of Idaho Falls on land that had been vacant for decades. Volunteers from the farm began working to clean up the land in 2020 and, this fall, the parks and recreation staff brought in equipment to help clear out trash and debris, prepping the land for its new use.

“The farm is in the South Saturn neighborhood, which lacks any parks or developed green space, so this will be the first area where neighborhood kids can reap the benefits of creative outdoor play,” Pine said.

Community members and leaders are excited for the new space and what it will offer.

“Spending time in nature provides children with multiple health and cognitive benefits, said P.J. Holm, Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation director in the release. “It builds confidence and promotes the use of their imagination. The Happyville Farm is a great space on the west side for folks to get their hands dirty and let their creativity come out.”

Some community members voiced their opinion that the improved space has been a need for a long time.

“This should have been done years ago,” said Duane Burtenshaw, who’s lived in the area for 40 years, in the release. “The kids need to be outdoors, and they’re a lot safer here than on the street.”

Volunteers are still working to restore the soil as well as to continue to build the growing area to reach its overall goal of providing fresh, in-season produce five days a week for donation at the Community Food Basket.

“The season isn’t finished yet,” Pine said in the release. “Thanks to our high tunnel, donated last year by our Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and other season extension techniques, we’re still bringing in the last tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, along with fall cabbage, cauliflower and more.”