Bowen Health Offers Wabash Residents New Community Garden, Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
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Bowen Health, Indiana’s largest community mental health center and a nonprofit healthcare organization, is proud to share its deep commitment to community well-being through the offering of a community garden at the Bowen Health – Wabash location.* As part of the organization's mission to provide access to resources that improve the quality of life for residents throughout the communities it serves, the community garden is open to anyone in Wabash, or surrounding cities, as a free, accessible option for fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Bowen Health – Wabash community garden is the first of three current community gardens across Bowen Health’s 22-county service area throughout northeast and north central Indiana. This garden was created in partnership with the Purdue Extension Master Gardeners, a program that teaches gardening enthusiasts more about horticulture.
Participants then volunteer, utilizing their newfound knowledge to support surrounding communities through educational gardening activities.
“We wanted to make sure that we were able to get all the produce out there to the people who want it and who need it,” said Kim Shininger, Bowen Health Director of Community Engagement – Wabash, Cass, and Howard counties. “The Master Gardeners, Purdue Extension, and the Health Department have been instrumental in helping us feed people and making sure we have different resources that maybe wouldn’t be there if we didn’t all work together. That’s the reason we do the garden, so that people who maybe can’t afford it this week, and maybe the bills are tight, they can come and they can take stuff from the garden.”
Outside of providing fresh produce, the community garden also offers a shared space where neighbors, families, and members of the community can come together for connection, relaxation, and time outdoors.
The Bowen Health – Wabash community garden is free and open to anyone in the Wabash area and surrounding counties, regardless of whether they are a patient of Bowen Health.
“It’s for anybody who wants to come. We want people to enjoy the garden because it’s very healing, a very safe place to come and just kind of experience nature,” Shininger shared.
To view a short overview of the Bowen Health – Wabash community garden and all other community gardens, visit BowenHealth.org/Who-We-Are, navigate to the bottom of the page to the “Community” section, and click “See the Whole Playlist.” The Bowen Health – Wabash video is titled “Growing Together.”
*Note:
The Bowen Health – Wabash location is in the process of relocating. The community garden will remain at the previous address until further notice, with healthcare services taking place at a new address below, beginning on November 2, 2026.
Current address for community garden and previous location address:
• 255 North Miami St., Wabash, IN 46992
New location address, as of November 2, 2026:
• 1649 Bowen Dr., Wabash, IN 46992