Growing Gardens

Mission

Growing Gardens uses the experience of growing food in schools, backyards, and correctional facilities to cultivate healthy and equitable communities. Find out more about our work at: https://bit.ly/3zvblQi

Bottom Line for Portland

• For over 25 years, Growing Gardens has worked towards our mission to utilize the powerful human experience of gardening to increase community access, improve diets and health outcomes, and inspire future food leaders in Oregon.
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• Our vision is for every Oregonian to have equal access to healthy food and an sincere desire to better understand, participate in, and actively improve our local food system.
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• We accomplish this through three hands-on gardening programs:
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• Home Gardens - Providing bilingual resources and guided support for individuals & families as they grow their own garden at home. 
  
  Youth Grow - Building and maintaining school gardens which inspire youth to make healthy choices, and deepen their understanding of the natural environment.
  
  And Lettuce Grow - Working directly with incarcerated individuals in prisons to cultivate new skills and build a healthier community on the inside.

Our work is both wide and deep in pursuit of a healthy and more equitable food system. Your donations make it happen! With your support, we're excited to show you what 2023 will bring. 

Quote

“Growing Gardens planted not just things that grow in gardens but the seeds of inquiry for my students
this year. When we are outside for any reason, they now see things they never knew existed: birds, pollinators, insects and seedlings. They want to learn more and more about each of these. It’s like a light switch was flipped on!”

- 2nd grade teacher at Glenfair

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Hunger is an Equity Issue
 

Food insecurity affects us all, but it disproportionately impacts some communities more than others.

Studies have shown that households of color, recent immigrants, and families with children are at greater risk of experiencing food insecurity and hunger. Growing Gardens is committed to empowering and uplifting these communities through hands-on garden-based education initiatives.

To ensure this goal, we root all of our programs and partnerships in the pursuit of anti-racism, which for us includes continuously identifying ways to hold ourselves and our partners accountable to principles of anti-oppression. 

In addition to writing anti-racist guidelines into our grant proposals and community partnership agreements, we hold recurring Racial Equity meetings where we discuss and track initiatives to further weave anti-racism into all aspects of our organization. For example, every member of the staff and board is required to attend a multi-day training on unlearning racism with the People’s Institute. 

We are grateful for the resources we have had to not only help us deepen our understanding of oppressive systems but also to learn all the ways we can continue to grow as individuals and as a team.

Incentives

When you donate via Give!Guide or subscribe to our News Beet Newsletter before 12 pm on December 31st, 2022, you will be entered to win a two-night yurt retreat for two at Planet to People. 
 

Planet to People is a working homestead and yurt retreat in Carlton, Oregon, offering a quiet place to visit and reconnect with nature. Donate via Give!Guide or subscribe to our News Beet Newsletter for your chance to win a two-night yurt retreat for two valued at $275. ( 2,000 tickets available. Drawing to be held on Instagram Live on January 5th, 2023.) Learn more at https://www.planettopeople.com/

PLUS

FOR EVERY $5 DONATED, we will plant a garden seedling in your honor.

THE FIRST 35 UNDER 35 receive a gift certificate for a Singaporean Sambal sauce courtesy of our friends at Sibeiho.

AND As a token of our gratitude, we've created a series of PDF planners designed to help you manage and maintain a healthful kitchen. Access them as a digital file on your tablet or smartphone, or print them off to build your own kitchen management binder!

Donate $10+ To Recieve:

-The Home Garden Planner
-The Home Garden Guide Book

-The Home Preserving Planner
-and The Home Preserving Guide Book

Business Partner(s)

Planet to People is a working homestead and yurt retreat in Carlton, Oregon, offering a quiet place to visit and reconnect with nature. Learn more at https://www.planettopeople.com/
 

Sibeiho is a Singaporean food startup based in Portland, Oregon. The Sibeiho brand transports you to the tastes, sights, and textures of Singapore with three signature Sambal chili sauces - Boomz Sambal, OMG! Sambal® and AF Chili Chunka Sambal. We will award a gift certificate for a free Sambal to the first 35 donors under the age of 35. Learn more at https://sibeiho.com/