FOOD GARDENS
that
EMPOWER
We implement and grow regenerative, organic food gardens & farms with residents of homeless shelters and affordable housing, to function as a place for accessing food, healing, skill training, work development and community building in Los Angeles.
OUR PROGRAMS
Resident Food Gardens
Activities conducted by GHG not only include building, implementing, growing and supporting all components of the garden, but also involve careful training for the on-site residents, community building through group exercises, and ongoing learning opportunities facilitated by GHG volunteers. Bi-monthly science-based training is provided to all program participants during our maintenance visits. Yearly community work days also include a “garden-to-table” segment, meaning a demonstration is given on how to prepare a plant-based meal and then shared with the community.
Garden Vegetable Donations
From 2021-22-23, each garden and the Virginia Avenue Farm became a point of service and connection through which we donated 100,000lbs of fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. These donations increase access to seasonal fresh food, while enhancing the resident’s connection to each other and to what is growing in their own gardens.
Work Development Program
We offer a paid work internship with unhoused and recently unhoused folks. As the gardens are planted and the residents are provided with educational workshops related to the gardening process, interns are learning to properly tend to the gardens. Likewise, they too receive proper care - GHG staff and volunteers support them in advocating for improved social services and personal housing opportunities. To date, 7 out of our 9 unhoused paid internship graduates are now permanently housed. This is an 87% success rate that we hope will reach 100 in the coming years.
OUR IMPACT
2021-23
18,500 Seedlings Planted
Seedlings grown by GrowGood or donated are tended to in our nursery until they are hardened and sturdy enough to plant
100,000 lbs of Donated Produce
Gleaned farmer’s market and private properties, vegetables and fruit, donated and distributed.
15 Resident Food Gardens & 1 Farm
Just over 2800 square feet of active growing space in 9 distinct affordable housing properties and 2 homeless shelter, producing year-round harvest.
Accessible to over 3150 Individuals
Supporting financially disadvantaged persons with 24/7 access to organic food gardens.
ABOUT US
GHG was founded in 2019 by Carolyn Day, a Master Gardener who witnessed the powerful impact of edible gardens while volunteering at a local homeless shelter. Having experienced homelessness as a youth, she remained especially sensitive to the reality that food insecurity can often be a direct result of transitional living. She began to take action towards developing a local solution, and launched a pilot project by planting four garden beds at The People Concern’s Samoshel Shelter.
Help us grow organic, regenerative gardens that empower residents and communities of small means.
"Because folks at Growing Hope Gardens cared, a child took his first step in organic garden soil instead of Skid Row. "
— Carolyn Day
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