Home Gardens

Home garden installations, seeds, plant starts, classes, mentors and more.

Limited income households don’t always have the option to put fresh nutritious food on the table.  The Home Garden Program decreases chances of food insecurity by empowering low-income families to grow food for themselves, friends and neighbors in their own back yard. 

With the help of hundreds of volunteers, Growing Gardens installs raised garden beds in the yards of low-income households.  Gardeners in apartments or with limited space receive containers to grow food on patios and porches.  Each household is enrolled into a three year support program. Seeds, plants, compost bins, tools, soil amendments and education through experienced volunteer Mentors, educational newsletters & workshops in the Learn & Grow Program all assure the success of Home Gardeners.  
                                                                                                                                    

"Thanks for getting me started in this journey in gardening. I have grown so much as my garden has!"

-5th year Home Gardener

 
In 2009 Growing Gardens:                                                                                  

• Enrolled 66 new 1st year Home Gardeners were enrolled reaching 117 adults and 152 children.
• Provided support to 62 2nd year Home Gardeners and 47 3rd year Home Gardeners reaching 160 adults and 111 children.
• Distributed over 2000 seed packets and over 1500 plant starts to currently enrolled and un-enrolled Home Gardeners.
• Worked with 393 community volunteers who put in 1538.5 hours of service in the Home Garden Program.
• 25 compost bins and 22 worm bins were distributed to 1st year Home Gardeners.
• Connected 39 Volunteer Mentors attended 3 trainings and contributed over 390 hours of one-on-one education with 1st year Home Gardeners.
• Conducted soil tests and provided education about the dangers of lead contamination for 71 low-income households.

The results of the 2009 end of year surveys found:

• 78% of Home Gardeners saved money on food as a result of their garden.
• 90% of Home Gardeners shared extra produce with someone outside of their household.
• 43% of Home Gardeners met new neighbors as a result of their garden.
• 71% of Home Gardeners increased their daily fruit & vegetable consumption as a result of their garden.
• 43% of Home Gardeners spent more time outdoors as a result of their garden.
  
• Of the Home Gardeners who report regularly using emergency food boxes 61% decreased the number of food boxes as a result of their garden.

           "This program is the best thing that has happened to my family. We never had the extra money in spring for seeds or starts, and now we can grow from seeds we have collected, and I have seen how many tomatoes come from one plant."

- 1st year Home Gardener