GARDENERS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Food Production and Distribution: Our garden projects are physically designed, and participants are trained, so that the amounts of vegetables grown exceed personal needs of the grower, in order that a significant portion of the yield can be donated to needy community members through sharing and food pantries, and also, that some can be sold to cover personal gardening expenses. Most participants, about 65 families, are themselves impoverished, live in neighborhoods with high levels of food insecurity, and about 35 of these are recent immigrants and refugees. Currently, in 3 food projects these growers tend their own plots, and annually over 150 volunteers provide necessary assistance. Three of these projects donated over 7,500 pounds to food pantries, benefiting up to 450 persons each week. Produce sales at local farmers markets raised more than $12,000 that partially covered program and participants expenses. In addition, volunteers in our greenhouses grew several thousand vegetable and herb plants for garden projects across the region, many of which were sold to our project supporters to help cover production costs.

Sustainable Garden Systems: Successful community food projects require that we build resilience in the design of projects, and that we build the capacity of participants so that they are organized and trained to create manage projects for the long-run. We use regenerative practices the conserve energy and matter, and continuously build healthy soil. Using deep mulches of chipped tree trimmings and straw, organic amendments, weed suppressing and soil building cover crops, disease resistant plants, and ecological diversity, has brought lasting success. The East Dallas Community Garden continues to thrive as a project for Cambodian market gardeners now in its 35th year. The Live Oak Community Garden, is doing well at 30 years, and both Hope and Our Saviour gardens are successfully passing their 17th years.