Community Gardens at Homeless Shelters

Dear Everyone,

This is my first time posting on Comfood, however I’ve been an “enthusiastic observer” for several months now and have been so impressed with the wealth of information that I have learned here. I have become a big fan of many of you. My current day job does not involve food or food policy in any way, but like so many people that contribute to this site, I love good, fresh, healthy food and believe that everyone should have access to it. Because of this, I recently began a project with The Growing Connection (TGC, www.thegrowingconnection.org) to introduce gardens to homeless shelters in the New Haven, CT area. TGC is part of the FAO/UN and has primarily worked to introduce gardening to school children worldwide. Their project gets children involved in cultivating food and introduces the concept into the school curriculum so that kids understand what they are growing and how it is beneficial to them. They also establish “connections” with other school children across the globe with blogs. Kids here in New Haven, for example, are blogging with students in Ghana and Chicago to discuss their gardening experiences, and life. I believed the TGC concept would be ideal for shelters because it often involves growing food in Earth Boxes (www.earthbox.com), which are highly efficient, use only ~20% of the water normally used in traditional gardens, and involve little if any weeding. They also eliminate the need for a large plot of land or healthy soil, although I’ve had the soil tested at both sites for pH and nutrients and am now testing it for heavy metals in the event that they do want to plant directly in the ground someday.

With the shelter gardens, the idea is to introduce more fresh, local produce to the residents as well as to hopefully inspire some of them to learn about growing food and potentially use that as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness. The shelters receive many generous donations in many forms, but with the current food and energy crises, and the pinch felt by food shelters and pantries, I hoped this would help to alleviate some of that need.

In addition, one of the shelters has already sold some of its local, organic basil and Italian chard to a local vegetarian restaurant, so this could potentially be a way to generate revenue for the shelters.

We’ve been fortunate in that we’ve received generous donations to help us launch these projects. Total Fence (www.totalfencellc.com) from New Haven, CT donated and installed 7 foot tall chain link fences at both shelters. Urban Oaks (http://www.blog.urbanoaks.org), an organic nursery in New Britain, CT and Claire Criscuolo from Claire’s Cornercopia (http://www.clairescornercopia.com) in New Haven, CT both generously donated organic seedlings. We also grew some of the seedlings ourselves. And the local Agway in North Haven, CT donated bamboo stakes for the tomato plants. The shelters purchased the Earth Boxes either through grant money, or through a donation, however these projects could obviously be carried out without the use of Earth Boxes specifically. I have to say, though, the plants are doing wonderfully in these boxes with very little maintenance.

There are certainly challenges to these do-it-yourself projects and I see this year as a learning experience for sure. One is to get the residents involved in the gardening, particularly if their stay is transient which is often the case. One of the sites, Stepping Stone, however, is a transitional housing site which is part of Christian Community Action (www.ccahelping.org). Families can live there for up to two years, which allows them to be present through one or two growing seasons. The other is Life Haven (www.lifehaven.org) which is a shelter for pregnant women or women with children and the moms often stay for up to 6 months. Having them interested in eating what’s in the garden is also a consideration. Claire (above) has offered to conduct a cooking class with some of the residents to introduce some quick ideas for using what’s in the garden. I’ll also be talking to the families at a shelter meeting next week to get feedback from them and to find out exactly what they’d like to grow in their garden. We got started a little late this year, however the plan would be for the shelters to raise all their own seedlings next year. Still, I’m taking this one day at a time and realize that each shelter is a unique project. I’ve also contacted some soup kitchens in the area to see if they’d be interested in starting gardens.

If anyone is interested in TGC, you can contact either Bob Patterson (robert.patterson@fao.org), or Amy McMillen (amy.mcmillen@fao.org). Also, if anyone has ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks to everyone and best wishes,

Linda DiBella
203 641 5628
more photos can be seen here
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Major Media Contact Information for Green Activist

ABC News
47 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212–456–7777
D.C. Bureau phone: 202–222–7777
General e-mail: netaudr@abc.com

ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings:
Phone: 212–456–4040
Fax: 212–456–2795
E-mail: netaudr@abc.com

Nightline:
1717 DeSales St., NW, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202–222–7000
E-mail: niteline@abc.com

20/20:
147 Columbus Ave., 10th fl, New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212–456–2020
Fax: 212–456–0533
E-mail: 2020@abc.com

ABC’s Good Morning America:
147 Columbus Ave., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212–456–5900
Fax: 212–456–7257
E-mail: netaudr@abc.com

CBS

CBS News
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212–975–4321
Fax: 212–975–1893
D.C. Bureau phone: 202–457–4385

CBS Evening News with Dan Rather:
Phone: 212–975–3691 or 202–457–4385
Fax: 212–975–1893

The Early Show:
Phone: 212–975–2824
Fax: 212–975–7133 or 212–975–2033

60 Minutes:
555 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019–2985
Phone: 212–975–2006
Fax: 212–757–6975

60 Minutes II:
Phone: 212–975–6200

CNBC
2200 Fletcher Ave.
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Phone: (201) 585–2622
Fax: (201) 583–5453
Email: info@cnbc.com

CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303–5366
Phone: 404–827–1500
Fax: 404–827–1906
E-mail: cnn.feedback@cnn.com

CNN Washington Bureau
820 First St. N.E., Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202–898–7900
Fax: 202–898–7923

Crossfire
Phone: 202–898–7655
Fax: 202–898–7611

Larry King Live
Phone: 202–898–7690
Fax: 202–898–7686

Fox News Channel
1211 Ave. of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 301–3000
Fax: (212) 301–4229
Email: comments@foxnews.com

MSNBC
One MSNBC Plaza
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Phone: (201) 583–5000
Fax: (201) 583–5453
Email: world@msnbc.com

NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Phone: 212–664–4444
Fax: 212–664–4426

Washington Bureau
4001 Nebraska Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202–885–4200
Fax: 202–362–2009

NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw:
Phone: 212–664–4971 or 202–885–4259 Fax: 202–362–2009 E-mail: nightly@nbc.com

NBC News’ Today:
Phone: 212–664–4602 or 202–885–4231
Fax: 212–664–4426
E-mail: today@nbc.com

Dateline NBC
Phone: 212–664–7501
Fax: 212–664–7864
E-mail: dateline@nbc.com

Public Broadcasting

PBS
1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703–739–5000
Fax: 703–739–8458

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
3620 South 27th St., Arlington, VA 22206
Phone: 703–998–2150
E-mail: newshour@pbs.org

National Public Radio
635 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001–3753
Phone: 202–513–2000
Fax: 202–513–3329
E-mail: Jeffrey Dvorkin, Ombudsman ombudsman@npr.org

All Things Considered:
Phone: 202–513–2110
E-mail: atc@npr.org

Morning Edition:
Phone: 202–513–2150
Fax: 202–513–3329
E-mail: morning@npr.org

National Newspapers

Los Angeles Times
202 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 800–528–4637 or 213–237–5000
Fax: 213–237–4712
E-mail: letters@latimes.com

New York Times
229 W. 43rd St., New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212–556–1234
Fax: 212–556–3690
D.C. Bureau phone: 202–862–0300
E-mail: letters@nytimes.com

USA Today
1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22229
Phone: 800–872–0001 or 703–276–3651
Fax: 703–247–3108
E-mail: editor@usatoday.com

Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty St., New York, NY 10281
Phone: 212–416–2000
Fax: 212–416–2658
E-mail: editors@interactive.wsj.com

Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW, Washington, DC 20071
Phone: 202–334–6000
Fax: 202–334–5269
E-mail: ombudsman@washpost.com

Associated Press
50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212–621–1500
Fax: 212–621–7523
D.C. Bureau phone: 202–776–9400

Magazines

Newsweek
251 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212–445–4000
Fax: 212–445–5068
E-mail: letters@newsweek.com

Time
Time & Life Bldg., Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212–522–1212
Fax: 212–522–0323
E-mail: letters@time.com

U.S. News & World Report
1050 Thomas Jefferson St., Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202–955–2000
Fax: 202–955–2049
E-mail: letters@usnews.com

American Planners Urban Agriculture Charter

1. Develop plans, development regulations, and economic incentive programs to provide accessible and well-serviced sites for public markets, farmers markets, small scale processing facilities, and distribution centers for food produced in the region.
2. Encourage mixed-use neighborhood design and redevelopment to include small and mid-sized grocery stores, farmers markets, and community gardens to allow residents to grow their own food.
3. Prepare comprehensive plans and neighborhood plans that recognize community gardens, farm/garden stands, and farmers markets as desirable civic uses and provide sufficient space, infrastructure, and inter-modal transportation for such uses.
4. Support development of vegetable gardens, edible landscaping, and related infrastructure on publicly owned lands, such as schoolyards, parks and greenways, and tax-foreclosed properties
5. Provide incentives and special zoning provisions to integrate locally. supported agriculture (e.g., community gardens, urban agriculture, small farms) into existing settlements and new areas of residential development.
6. Explore possibilities for recycling food wastes through composting and bio-fuel development.

RUAF Paper on Key Issues and Courses of Action for City Policy Making re Urban Agriculture

http://www.ruaf.org/files/WP_02.pdf).

Farmworkers Emergency Food Drive 2008

Some of you may want to donate food to the LULAC Council 309 Farmworkers Emergency Food Drive 2008—see details below my signature.

Yo soy,

Enrique E. Figueroa, Ph.D., Director
Roberto Hernandez Center and
Assistant to the Provost for Lartino Affairs
University of Wisconsion, Milwuakee
Bolton Hall 183
P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201
414–229–3651, 229–6156, fax, 229–2250, 967–1604 [cell], figueroa@uwm.edu

---

Reminder:

Please bring your food item donations by Thursday. Volunteers will be collecting on Thursday afternoon. Thank you for your support.

Council 309

Farmworkers Emergency Food Drive

“helping hands for hands who feed us”

LULAC Council 309, comprised of UMOS employees, is sponsoring a Farmworkers Emergency Food Drive for the many migrant and seasonal farmworkers who have suffered the devastating effects of the recent rains and flooding in rural Wisconsin. Many families have been without work or income for several weeks, and have only recently been able to begin working in Wisconsin fields and canneries.

YOU CAN HELP these families in need by donating non perishable food items. This Farmworkers Emergency Food Drive will run from Monday, July 28th through Friday, August 8, 2008, with all donations to be transported to the annual UMOS Farmworker Appreciation Day event in Wautoma, WI.

Drop-off Locations: Central and Southeastern Job Centers & Corporate Headquarters. 2701 S. Chase Avenue, Milwaukee, WI. There will be food drive barrels and grocery bags placed at these locations. A volunteer team will pick them up at the designated locations.

Suggested Items

Canned Vegetables		Canned Fruit
Instant potatoes		Evaporated or Dry milk
Canned Meats		Pastas
Dry beans		Rice
Tomato sauce	or	paste Cereals

Contact persons:
Luis Garza 389–6097
Lety Keltz 389–6255
Carmen Granados 389–6005
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Seek to Peddle and Partner Green Career and Calling Adventures

Montezon Enterprises

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Alice’s Garden Shares the Harvest This Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m.

…AND Herbs, Corn, Eggplant, Collard Greens…
Join us at Alice’s Garden
as we…

Share The Harvest
Thursday, August 7
6pm to 8pm
20th & Garfield Streets.

As I type this I am savoring a fresh-baked ear of corn picked this morning from the garden. Join us on Thursday for a garden celebration!

6:00pm to 7:00pm Children’s Activities
6:15pm to 7:00pm Yoga
7:00pm to 8:00pm Sharing the Harvest

Cold drinks and snacks will be served.

Bring a towel and water bottle if you plan to participate in the yoga class.

a rose opens because
she is the fragrance she loves
RUMI

Venice R. Williams
cell: 414.687.0122

SeedFolks Youth Ministry
3617 N. 48th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53216

Alice’s Garden
20th & Garfield Street

www.lutheransonline.com/lo/Kuji
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Invite to Harvest Every Other Carrot and Beat at Gods Hill City Farm

Dear All,

You are invited to harvest every other carrot and every other beat from that section of Gods Hill City Farm.

Those who harvest carrots and/or beats are also welcome to a meals worth of fresh, natural lettuce whose names I know not(I’m just an intern), but whose taste many will vouch for.

Here are some pictures:

http://www.milwaukeerenaissance.com/Godshillcityfarm/HomePage

http://www.nonviolentworm.org/DiaryOfAWorm/20080731-Intense

Send an e-mail to Godsil.james@gmail.com if you are interested.

Rain Day August 2008
Milwaukee Wisconsin
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Report on East Nashville’s Humble Rental Duplex Gardens

Wonderful things are happening in Middle Tennessee, Nashville, and especially in my East Nashville Community. I am writing this as an inspiration, not as much as a brag, but I am also proud and hopeful. How audacious!

In January, I walked away from a well paying stressful job and an abusive boss, sick with depression and despair to a series of even worse jobs. Then got fired from sales (was not selling enough) and from appointment setting (was not setting enough appointments).

In my desperation, I prayed for purpose, and boy, did I receive!

I finally landed a job with a greenish (green by accident) company, again in sales, but not as much pressure, and this is something I can actually live with!

Due to not spending my every waking hour thinking about my job, I have been able to do volunteer work for food security movement, for community gardens, for local organic farmers market, for a food co-op movement. And then I got involved in an urban farm project. Finally, my life actually has meaning. TV has lost its hold on me.

There suddenly is an abundance of green things to choose from. I’ve befriended some hippies and other green types. Went tent camping in an organic orchard that has any kind of fruit tree one can imagine and then some. Going to a lake for a weekend of camping and fun later this month. Carpooling with gals, of course.

I have never been this poor, but neither have I ever been this happy!

I also started a little garden of my own, inspired by a neighbor’s flower garden. It then started to expand. Our landlord lets us dig as much as
we wish! I wake up at dawn and inspect the garden with my cats. It is watered with gray and rain water only. Watermelon, okra and sweet potatos are new plants to me. In addition to veggies and flowers, I have about 30 different herbs, and my garden is not that big. Two of my neighbors have since started their own little gardens. And the remaining two renters have potted plants. We all now have recycling containers as well. And there is a neat and tidy composter, Earth Machine, that our city sells at cost. My two cucumber plants produce enough for the six families.

Tomorrow, I am leading a community garden tour to some of our most precious gardens right here in the city. It will be hot, so the mint tea from my herb garden will come handy.

On August 30, we will have a Cool Cucumber Candle Light Martini Party in the Humble Rental Duplex Gardens, at dusk. Folks will bring their favorite martini glass, a plate, a cloth napkin (best napkin wins a prize) a dish or drink to share. I am making some of my weird Finnish food. Every party has to have some kind of curiosity, right?

Who says one person can not change the lives of others for the better? The way I see it: you only need to save one (and I am not talking about religion - but gardening, farming, and kindness to your neighbors). If we all would make the life of ONE person a bit better, maybe more meaningful, a bit less painful, what a life that would be!

Kate, on her soap box (the soap is from local organic farm!)

And…

Our city (mayor’s office) put out an environmental survey. They actually are trying to listen to folks. And folks are speaking. Bells Bend is a lovely farm land area in our county and one of the wealthiest families in town bought some land and is trying to develop it into a second city center. Really not economically feasible, as the downtown is already struggling and there are 2,000 plus condos on the market that are not selling, so we really do not need 5,000 more.

My sister in Finland pays about $10/gallon for gas. We will do the same. Probably sooner than we think. So my Florida and California produce will eventually come with a hefty price tag. Here in TN we can garden year around, we need to learn to eat seasonally, to can, to dry and otherwise preserve. I am just getting started with my fall garden for cool weather crops.

In TN we can grow even figs. I am trying to start plum trees from plums I got from a friend’s garden. There is a mulberry tree in the back, I made jam for the first time ever. The city park not too far has paw paw trees. All kinds of good stuff will grow. Peanuts, even ginger in a jar. My family in the old country is jealous for the long growing seasons, but I do miss my winter at times. And the food, definitely the food. Dad’s home made beer according to a stone age recipe (sahti), sheesh, I am making myself home-food-sick.

Kate

- The more you do, the more you CAN do! -
Lucille Ball
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The Bicycling Horticulturist

Posted by: “Nicole Bickham” at the Sustainable Wisconsin Yahoo group
Sat Aug 2, 2008 10:34 pm (PDT)
Ryan Nassichuk builds food gardens for people. His bicycle and trailer are
the sole transport for himself, tools, and materials - including soil and
plants! This horticulturist also builds container gardens and composters.
Tour a backyard garden in which a 6-week class of students filled raised
beds with soil, compost and fertilizer, did succession planting, and built a
low-cost composter. Recently Ryan has added free seed-sharing to his
wisdom-sharing, while continuing to propagate food gardens throughout
Vancouver.

Watch the video at:
http://www.wordpress.peakmoment.tv/conversations/?p=187#more-187

This reminded me of the program in California that we’ve talked about on
this list in the past (http://www.sfvictorygardens.org/). They delivered
garden start-up kits by bicycle around the city of San Francisco.

It also reminds me that a couple years ago there was a young man doing
organic lawn care and landscaping in the Milwaukee area (mostly east side I
think) using his bike & bike trailer (and only human-powered tools). Not
sure whether he’s still around, but his website is still functioning:
http://www.symbioticlifescaping.com/.
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