In spring 2021, Caulfield, then associate pastor of Riverside UMC and director of the University of Houston's Wesley Foundation, began a plan for a garden. She said she wanted it to offer relationships and fresh, nutritious food for college students, the church and the surrounding community. Rev. Johnnie Simpson, senior pastor of Riverside, now oversees the space. He said the garden has become a staple for the church and the Third Ward area, and that it connects the church with neighbors in a different way than traditional outreach. He also said the garden addresses justice in areas known as food deserts.
Caulfield said the garden is a community effort, even though it sits on church property. Youth from Bellaire UMC built raised beds with cinderblock borders during consecutive weekends in the first summer. Students from the UH Wesley Foundation and Texas Southern University have helped water and weed, and neighbors who receive food assistance from the church have also helped. The beds are about hip height, which Caulfield said was intended so older adults could reach the plants. Colorful benches and picnic tables were added to encourage conversation and rest.
Two years after the Riverside garden started, Brown, who advises on gardening, and Caulfield helped open a second garden at Trinity East UMC, about three miles away, in April 2023. Brown said both gardens are designed as teaching gardens where people can learn about gardening and health. She said the goal is for people to be "physically, spiritually, and emotionally fed."