Growing Gardens

Mission

Our mission is to utilize the powerful human experience of gardening to increase equitable food access and inspire the future food system leaders of Oregon. 

Bottom Line for Portland

Our vision is for every Oregonian to have equal access to healthy food and a sincere desire to better understand, participate in, and actively improve our local food system. We accomplish this through three hands-on gardening programs:

Home Gardens - Providing accessible garden beds and three years of guided support at homes and community spaces in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties. 

Youth Grow - Building and maintaining school gardens that inspire youth to make healthy choices, deepen cultural roots, and better understand their natural environment.

And Lettuce Grow - Cultivating change through professional certifications and hands-on learning experiences at correctional facilities across Oregon. 

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 2025 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 hire from within the communities we serve, and we hold recurring Racial Equity meetings where we discuss and track initiatives to further weave anti-racism into all aspects of our organization. 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

Supporters under the age of 35 Donate or follow Growing Gardens and we'll enter you into a drawing for a two-night stay at the breathtaking wilderness retreat, Camp Colton. 

But never fear, supporters over the age of 35 will be entered to win a two-night stay at the Camp Colton wilderness retreat as well! 

The drawing will be held on Instagram @growinggardenspdx on Tuesday, December 31st at 11am

But that's not all...

The first 90 to donate $200 or more will receive one ticket to our highly anticipated Lunar New Year Celebration Dinner - Featuring chef Thuy Pham of Mama Dut! (Jan 26th  or Feb 2nd) 

PLUS the first person to donate $50 or more to Growing Gardens and our partners at Commons Law Center wins a One-year Membership to the Lan Su Chinese Garden
 

Partner(s)

A HUGE heartfelt thank you to our partners:

New Seasons Market - For matching $2,500 in Give Guide donations this year!!

Mestizo - For donating your beautiful restaurant space for our Lunar New Year dinner! 

Masa Fresh - For donating a bounty of fresh local produce for our Lunar New Year dinner!

Camp Colton - For donating TWO, two-night stays at your beautiful retreat! 

The Commons Law Center - For collaborating on the renters rights workshop and Lan Su Chinese Garden incentive! 

Path Home Northwest - For being such an amazing nonprofit partner!