Two additional grants of $10,000 each have been awarded by The Garden Club of America. By funding all these complementary initiatives, the Founders Fund grant would go far to demonstrate how stimulating the growth of urban, community food gardens – and the gardening skills needed to maintain them – not only provides a short-term answer to food insecurity and health inequity in our cities, but also a longer-term model that can be sustained. Making gardening accessible to everyone is central to the mission of Evanston Grows, Garden Club of Evanston and the GCA.Ī portion of the Founders Grant will be used for educational programs in its gardens and elsewhere – including the installation of a native pollinator garden and a butterfly garden that can be used for this purpose. The new garden, like Eggleston and all the gardens and farm stands that are part of Evanston Grows, will quickly become community spaces where volunteers and local residents come together to garden, learn to garden, share cooking ideas or simply share their stories. Productivity and efficiency at this garden will be significantly increased by the addition of a washing stand and large shed, as well as the enhancement of its soil, irrigation and fencing systems. In addition, they require additional funding to improve the Eggleston food garden developed in 2022. Evanston Grows has secured other funding sources to pay the staff needed to maintain this new garden. ![]() This pantry currently serves over 110 families weekly but lacks fresh produce. The church that owns this plot has agreed to allow use of the land for this purpose, and distribution will be seamless at the USDA-approved food pantry that is already located on site. To do this, Evanston Grows plans to establish a large urban food garden on an undeveloped 50 x 50 ft plot in the 8th ward. The Garden Club of Evanston, alongside its community partner, Evanston Grows will use the Founders Funds grant to grow more food to share in 2023, extend educational programming, and show how gardening by, and for, the community can advance health equity.īecause demand at its farm stands always far exceeds its supplies, this is a critical time for the organization as inflation continues to increase food insecurity in Evanston. In addition, Evanston Grows organizes internships and educational opportunities for all residents of Evanston to learn more about gardening, cooking, and nutrition. This year, Evanston Grows shared 4,000 pounds of fresh, organic food at its two farm stands in the 5th and 8th Wards, areas where many food insecure residents live and which are majority BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color). Evanston Grows directly manages three of these gardens, and partners with 15 neighborhood gardens farmed by, and for, local residents. Founded in 2021, Evanston Grows is a non-profit collective of community organizations and individuals that aims to reduce food insecurity in a city where one of every six residents is at risk.Įvanston Grows currently cultivates 18 edible gardens that provide free, fresh organic produce to Evanston’s most underserved neighborhoods. This year the $30,000 winning grant was awarded to Sowing and Growing Evanston Grows: Urban Gardens and Community in Evanston, Illinois. ![]() The projects are designed to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and action in the fields of conservation and civic improvement. The Garden Club of America’s (GCA) Founders Fund was established in 1934 to provide financial support, through a competitive grant program, to projects proposed by GCA member clubs. Founders Fund Current Winner Sowing and Growing: Evanston Grows Proposed by Garden Club of Evanston, Zone XI Seconded by Cedar Rapids Garden Club, Zone XI
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