The director of the city's Department of Neighborhoods, Stella Chao, presented her monthly report to the city council planning and land use committee, which included the accomplishments of 2008 and concerns for possible budget cuts in the coming year.

About $2.58 million in Neighborhood Matching Fund grants were awarded to community members in 2008, which was matched with roughly $2.7 million in "volunteer sweat equity and in-kind donations," said Chao.

The Neighborhood Matching Fund program provides money to Seattle neighborhood groups and organizations for a wide range of neighborhood-initiated improvement, organizing or planning projects.

"I think especially in this economic time, matching funds will continue to play a very, very important role for the City of Seattle," she said. "Because of the kind of volunteerism in the city and the desire to improve their communities and do community building."

Eighteen projects have been awarded to neighborhood groups so far this year, for about $212,000 in matching fund grants, which will be announced soon, said Chao.

The director also touted community gardens as playing an important role in supplying food to local food banks, with a total of 22,000 pounds of produce contributed in 2008.

"The community gardens did a lot work last year," she said. "That's a really important thins as we go into harder economic times."

The city is working on developing seven new public gardens this year, including one at the West Seattle Christian Church.

"We hope to really ramp this up (in 2009) and make a lot more P-Patch plots available," she added.

Chair of the planning and land use committee Sally Clark remarked that it was going to be a difficult year for city departments as they cope with budget cuts.

"This is going to be a difficult year to figure out how we trim out a huge amount of money," said Clark.

She said it would be especially difficult to cut any funds from the matching fund program, knowing that "every dollar you cut, you lose another dollar."

"Everyone is going to have to really tighten up our belts," said Chao, who added that the department also employs neighborhood district coordinators at service center who act as liaisons for community members and the city.

"Another big priority for us is to not lay off anybody because we don't want to be adding to the whole of the unemployed," said Chao. "The department of neighborhoods is a small and very budget so we are going to be challenged with that."

Nearby P-Patch gardens are located at 8527 25th Ave. N.W., 2501-73 15th Ave. W. in Interbay, 5926 3rd Ave. N.W. in Phinney Ridge, on Baker Avenue Northwest and Northwest 42nd, 345 N.W. 88 St., 14th Northwest and Norhtwest 54th.