COEUR d’ALENE — More than 30 members and volunteers braved the rainy weather to prepare the Shared Harvest community garden on Foster Avenue for the winter months.

The skies were gray and gloomy Sunday but that didn’t stop gardeners from gathering to prepare the beds for a long winter's nap.

The garden yielded 4,140 pounds of produce this year to donate to 15 different food assistance facilities.

“We had a lot of enthusiastic plot owners this year,” said Kim Normand, garden manager. “Since the weather was so beautiful it was a longer season, it was a bumper crop year for us.”

Shanda and David Gimbel said they bring their young sons to the garden regularly. “It’s important for us to teach them to give back to the community, so it’s important to get them out here,” David Gimbel said. “We try to make it fun for them; we have picnics and things down here.”

Normand said the garden had extra helpers come in and make the cleanup a breeze for members.

“Last weekend we had NIC students come down and they did a lot of the heavy labor; they do it for a day of service,” Normand said. “So today we are just putting the icing on, making it look pretty.”

Sunday wasn’t only about pulling weeds and laying the garden to rest. The day was also about celebrating the success of the season’s harvest and sharing a brew after this year’s last romp in the dirt.

As the tidying of the garden came to a close, the multi generational gardeners collected around a picnic table laid out with chili, brats and beers, and cider for the kiddos. The gardening alliance shared friendship and food as they brought the harvesting year to a close.

“A lot of these people have connected so we are already looking for times to meet this winter,” Normand said. “This is about community and bringing people together, the rain may have not brought out the fair weather gardeners but it turned out to be a beautiful day.”

Art Boyman of Coeur d’Alene said there’s really one main thing that keeps him coming back to the garden.

“I love the people here, I love the neighborhood,” Boyman said. “I don't even live in this end of town, I just love it over here.”

Normand said living in the neighborhood is not a requirement to join the charitable and fun work they do at the Shared Harvest garden. She said she hopes to see new faces join the garden in 2016, even if it’s just volunteering for a day.

“We want people to be engaged in this,” Normand said. “It’s something everyone needs — rich or poor, everyone needs fresh produce.” Normand said she plans to hold canning classes next year through Shared Harvest. She said teaching people to preserve their own fruits and vegetables can also be a great way to give.

Gimbel said he sees the garden as a chance for youngsters to build character as well as be a helpful tool for people in need around our community. “This is probably the best way to go about giving back and sharing, getting people the right food,” Gimbel said. “Hopefully they (the kids) pick it up and want to help make the world a better place.”

The Shared Harvest garden will reopen with the annual spring cleanup in April. For more information visit http://www.sharedharvestgarden.org.

Jamie Sedlmayer can be reached at jsedlmayer@cdapress.com