About
Garden Joy offers a hands-on garden program where children take part in gardening, seasonal eating education, and garden exploration through camps, classes, and free monthly story time. The program also includes hands-on field trips, Farm to School Recipe Kits, and involvement with the Ripon Farmers Market.
• Ages: 3–12 years old
• Schedule: Free monthly story time and garden exploration for youth and their caregivers on the first Friday of most months at 9:00 am; Ripon Farmers Market every Thursday from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm throughout May to September.
• Price: Garden Joy provides free and low cost educational experiences.
Garden Joy was founded in 2016 as a community garden with garden beds for vegetables, ornamental plants, and fruit trees, along with picnic tables, a large lawn, and children’s play areas. The program serves about 1,000 local kids annually and offers free school field trips, as well as free monthly story time and garden exploration for youth and their caregivers. Farm to School Recipe Kits include fresh produce, cooking tools, a recipe, and all the ingredients necessary to create a healthy meal at home.
Garden Joy’s mission is to cultivate wellness and community through a hands-on garden program, provide free and low cost educational experiences, and make an impact on food insecurity by offering programs that provide thousands of pounds of fresh produce to the community and free education to local youth. All of the produce grown at Garden Joy is donated to local organizations like food pantries and schools, and Garden Joy helps feed local food pantries. Over 15,000 pounds of produce have been donated to the community to date, and the Ripon Farmers Market is the largest fundraising opportunity of the year for Garden Joy and provides a place for the community to come together and for local businesses to offer their products. Garden Joy exists because of the generosity of donors, volunteers, grants, and farmers market support and is a registered non-profit 501(c)3 that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations.
The leadership team includes Sarah Darpinian (Director of Garden Joy), Heather Crooker (Ripon Farmers Market Director), board members Jolene Peters, Lacee King, Tara Wagner, Kelly Donohue, Tanya McManis, and Kristin Okada, farm manager Rosel Vander Plaats, and Recipe Kit Leaders Janet Marticorena and Darla Haveman. Testimonials shared by those connected to Garden Joy include quotes from Helen Keller and Janet Kilburn Phillips, as well as comments from board member Jolene Peters that “beautiful things happen when nurturing and healing together,” and from board member Lacee King that “Seeing kids' eyes light up as they begin to discover the world of gardening is exciting!”
Last updated July 2, 2026.
• Ages: 3–12 years old
• Schedule: Free monthly story time and garden exploration for youth and their caregivers on the first Friday of most months at 9:00 am; Ripon Farmers Market every Thursday from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm throughout May to September.
• Price: Garden Joy provides free and low cost educational experiences.
Garden Joy was founded in 2016 as a community garden with garden beds for vegetables, ornamental plants, and fruit trees, along with picnic tables, a large lawn, and children’s play areas. The program serves about 1,000 local kids annually and offers free school field trips, as well as free monthly story time and garden exploration for youth and their caregivers. Farm to School Recipe Kits include fresh produce, cooking tools, a recipe, and all the ingredients necessary to create a healthy meal at home.
Garden Joy’s mission is to cultivate wellness and community through a hands-on garden program, provide free and low cost educational experiences, and make an impact on food insecurity by offering programs that provide thousands of pounds of fresh produce to the community and free education to local youth. All of the produce grown at Garden Joy is donated to local organizations like food pantries and schools, and Garden Joy helps feed local food pantries. Over 15,000 pounds of produce have been donated to the community to date, and the Ripon Farmers Market is the largest fundraising opportunity of the year for Garden Joy and provides a place for the community to come together and for local businesses to offer their products. Garden Joy exists because of the generosity of donors, volunteers, grants, and farmers market support and is a registered non-profit 501(c)3 that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations.
The leadership team includes Sarah Darpinian (Director of Garden Joy), Heather Crooker (Ripon Farmers Market Director), board members Jolene Peters, Lacee King, Tara Wagner, Kelly Donohue, Tanya McManis, and Kristin Okada, farm manager Rosel Vander Plaats, and Recipe Kit Leaders Janet Marticorena and Darla Haveman. Testimonials shared by those connected to Garden Joy include quotes from Helen Keller and Janet Kilburn Phillips, as well as comments from board member Jolene Peters that “beautiful things happen when nurturing and healing together,” and from board member Lacee King that “Seeing kids' eyes light up as they begin to discover the world of gardening is exciting!”
Last updated July 2, 2026.
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