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Executive Summary
Project Grow will be a 501-c(3) for the purpose of aiding persons dealing with food insecurity. The project will specifically deal with individuals or groups interested in creating projects to aid in this goal as well as providing education to both clients and the general public concerning food and nutrition.
Project Grow (PG) will encompass three branches all working toward the same goal. These will be a Growing Garden, a Growing Classroom and a Growing Community.
The Growing Garden (GG) will be a demonstration and teaching garden as well as a source of fresh, nutritious, organic produce for those who may be in need. A variety of methods will be utilized here including space-intensive methods, hydroponics, container gardening and other methods that could be adapted by individuals or small groups for the purpose of increasing fresh produce in the diet. The garden would provide produce on a pick-your-own basis for 1.) food bank recipients, 2.) volunteers, 3. ) school groups or others touring the garden, 4.) others.
The Growing Classroom (GCR) component of the project will be to teach others necessary skills associated with the goals of this project. Classes will be conducted in a variety of settings in either the garden itself or other facilities. Classes will range from composting and soil building to researching and starting your own community project. Initially, classes will focus on the growing, preserving and consumption of food. The GCR component will also provide a source of income into the project by offering a portion of spaces from each class to the paying public. Class offerings would be expanded based on the needs of current projects.
The Growing Community (GC) is the think tank and advisory board of this project. Its function is to support current projects, create new projects and make recommendations to the GG and GCR concerning support for these projects.
The GC will be an evolving board based on current projects already in action or under consideration. The initial projects for the GC will be a Community Garden Project initiative and a School Gardens initiative. Statement of Need
In 2005, 35.2 million people were listed as food insecure in the United States.
During the period of 2003-2005, North Carolina was ranked 9th highest for food insecurity. A North Carolina Food and Nutrition Services Report cited 4,410 persons using their services for January 2005, 4,669 for January 2006, and 4,688 for September 2007, in Pasquotank County alone. The food security issue is real and it is in our hometown and in our neighborhoods. The purpose of the Growing Project is to assist people using emergency food services in moving toward independence. It is the belief of this organization that people can easily produce a portion of their own food and greatly increase their health and well-being while decreasing their monthly expenditure on groceries. It is also the belief that given a little education and encouragement people will see that wholesome foods are just as convenient and much more nutritious than prepackaged over-processed food.
The Growing Project is designed to work with the agencies that are already providing emergency food assistance and to evolve based on the changing needs of the community. The Growing Community board will be made up of a rotating group of volunteers from these agencies and the local community for the purpose of implementing programs to aid people in moving toward self-sufficiency. Project Description / Statement of Work
The Growing Project
The Growing Project is a three branched entity consisting of The Growing Community, Growing Garden, and Growing Classroom. Each of these entities would work together or stand alone as necessary. The ultimate goal of each is to assist those with food insecurity issues and to support the other entities of this group in attaining these goals.
The Growing Community
The Growing Community (GC) is the think tank and advisory board of this project. Its purpose is to support current projects, create new projects and make recommendations to the Growing Garden and Growing Classroom concerning support needed for these projects. The GC will be an evolving board based on current projects already in action or under consideration. The current board would also decide which new projects could be accepted.
It is the function of the GC to create, implement and release programs into the community which can then run on their own while being offered continued support through the form of classes and garden demonstrations. To this purpose, recruitment of volunteers will be a large portion of this Community’s responsibility, as well as education and on-going support to train these volunteers to eventually take over specific programs.
The GC would serve as a depository for information concerning the community’s food security status. This would serve to help the board determine the viability of future projects.
The initial projects for the GC will be a Community Garden Project Initiative and a School Gardens Initiative. These will both be undertaken in the 2008 year.
These projects will determine the original design of the GG as well as the initial class offerings of the GCR.
The Growing Garden
The Growing Garden (GG) will be a demonstration garden set up for the purpose of teaching and providing a supply of fresh, nutritious produce. A variety of methods will be utilized here including space-intensive methods, hydroponics, container gardening and other methods that could be adapted by individuals or small groups for the purpose of increasing fresh produce in the diet.
The design of the garden will be determined by the current projects being sponsored by the Growing Community. In the School Garden section, space will be devoted toward fun, colorful produce and designs that encourage children to try new produce and develop a love for vegetables and growing.
In the Community Gardens section, space will be utilized to show how families could supplement their food supply by basing crop selection on yields, nutrition and caloric needs. Some crops grown will be geared toward varieties that are suited for drying, canning and seed-saving.
The vegetables produced in the garden will be donated to the Albemarle Food Bank as well as others in need. The garden would provide produce on a pick-your-own basis for 1.) Food bank recipients, 2.) Volunteers, 3. ) School groups or others touring the garden, 4.) Others.
Possible sources of volunteers/labor for this group would be civic organizations, community service participants through the court systems and residents of local homeless shelters and other temporary shelters. Other groups of volunteers would possibly include Boy/Girl Scouts, homeschool families and religious organizations.
The Growing Classroom
The Growing Classroom (GCR) component of the project will be to teach others the necessary skills associated with the goals of this project. The possible classes included in this segment will be geared to increasing food production and thereby decreasing the cost of feeding a family, but could also be expanded to include techniques for using the garden to increase a family’s income by creating products for sale such as jams or garden crafts. Classes will be conducted in a variety of settings in either the garden itself or other facilities Initially classes will focus on the growing, preserving and consumption of food.
The GCR component will also provide a source of income into the project by offering a portion of spaces from each class to the paying public. Class offerings would be expanded based on the needs of current projects. A partial list of course offerings includes:
composting
soil building dehydrating and food preservation/canning
jams and jellies
fresh foods cooking growing fruits
dried flower arranging
starting seedlings hydroponics
small-scale aqua-ponics
garden crafts for sale yogurt making
artisanal cheese making nutrition
The teachers for these classes would be sought from the Master Gardener’s Program, County Agricultural Extension office, local garden centers and the general community. Information would also be gleaned from these sources, the local library and the internet as supplements to classes and garden demonstrations.
Project Time Frame
Phase I 2008
Phase 1 of the project will consist of creating the physical garden spaces and determining the needs of each project. Funding sources will also be determined and secured during this phase while the 501-c(3) application is processed. A generalized schedule for the first three phases is as follows:
Growing Community:
Board recruitment and creation of necessary staff positions
Community Garden
Find initial site
Create garden
Recruit volunteers interested in creating Elizabeth City Community Garden Project
School Garden
Create 3 small square-foot gardens at J.C. Sawyer
Work with parent volunteers already in place to maintain and expand program
Growing Classroom:
Offer classes necessary to start initial projects
Spring: Composting/soil preparation
Space intensive gardening methods
Summer: Fresh foods cooking
Canning/dehydrating
Seed-saving
Fall: Cover crops
Fall crops
Growing Garden:
Establish base garden
Establish garden design based on school garden and community garden ideas
Establish compost bins
Determine labor hours needed and schedule volunteers
Phase II 2009
Growing Community:
Community Garden
Expand to include more sites
Work on formalizing the board to run this project
School Garden
Expand to include more schools
Work on formalizing the board to run this project
Create new project ideas
Growing Classroom:
Expand class offerings to fill in any perceived gaps
Growing Garden:
Expand and maintain garden design to support any projects
Phase III 2010
Growing Community:
Community Garden
Program to be self-supporting with continued support through both Growing Garden and Growing Classroom
School Garden
Program to be self-supporting with continued support through both Growing Garden and Growing classroom
` Create new projects as interest or needs arrive
Growing Classroom:
Expand class offerings to fill in any perceived gaps
Growing Garden:
Expand and maintain garden design to support any projects
Conclusions
In our not so distant past, many people grew and maintained the majority of their food supply. This project is in no way recommending that people return to the family farm of the 40s or 50s, but rather to help people embrace new information and technology, along with older, proven methods, to help support themselves in the new millennium. This is an effort to give a boost to those people who need it to become self-sufficient.
In summary, The Growing Project is an initiative to fill an ever-widening gap between an affordable, nutritious, constant food supply and the general public. It is based on the premise that in general people want to help themselves and others but often lack the knowledge and resources to do so. This project is designed to help people help themselves by moving them away from the need for temporary, emergency food sources to more independent, sustainable sources. |
Garden By-Laws
Project Grow Gardens
A program in partnership with the Food Bank of the Albemarle
1. FEE: Plots are free, but you must agree and comply with these standards to enjoy this privilege.
2. STANDARDS: Individual plots must be cleaned and started no later than May 1, or they will be considered forfeit and given to the next person on the waiting list. Likewise, your plot must be in reasonable condition on July 4th, and cleared out and mulched or replanted by Nov 15th.
Each gardener is responsible for weeding and clearing his/her plot. Weeds should always be kept smaller than the vegetables!
Plots have been developed with access paths between them, when planting please be considerate of other gardeners and visitors and allow space for plant growth that does not restrict the pathways.
Each gardener is expected work on his/her plot at least once per week. If you plan to be away, please make arrangements with a friend to assist. Additionally, gardeners are asked to spend 2 hours a month helping with the herb gardens, pathways, common areas, and the compost pile. The communal beds, which are plots 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 on your map, are shared by all.
3. FORM: Bricks are available to frame in your space to help visitors from inadvertently trampling seedlings and allow you to raise the soil level in your plot. We do wish to maintain a small level of uniformity between the plots particularly for the off-season.
4. COMPOST: The compost pile is for everyone. Please put all your organic debris on the pile and keep plastics out. However, please place any diseased plants in the trash, not the compost pile. Each gardener is responsible for trash removal: dumpsters are located by the building.
5. ACCESS: Both gardens are accessible during daylight hours. The Salvation Army garden is CLOSED on Sundays at the request of the Salvation Army church. Please be courteous of our hosts, the Food Bank of the Albemarle and the Salvation Army and any activities they may be having.
6. ORGANIC GARDEN: Pesticide use by gardeners is prohibited. Violators will lose their plots. We are too close together to take chances with chemical pesticides. Compost is the best fertilizer. A list of alternatives will be forthcoming.
7. PETS: The current policy is No pets in the garden.
8. NOISE: If you want music, wear earphones please.
9. REMEMBER THE NEEDY: Extra produce can be donated to the Food Bank of the Albemarle.
10. WATER: The gardens are currently not piped for water. We draw water from the spigot on the side of the building near the door. We will install 50-gallon rain barrels this year. Please take the time to rewind the hoses. Please be as conservative with water as possible. Mulching will assist with this.
11. COORDINATOR: The Community Garden Coordinator for Project Grow is Robin Kelly-Goss. Contact info is: 252 338-1234, pisakg@yahoo.com
I understand that neither the garden group nor owners of the land are responsible for my actions. I THEREFORE AGREE TO HOLD HARMLESS THE GARDEN GROUP AND OWNERS OF THE LAND FOR ANY LIABILITY, DAMAGE, LOSS OR CLAIM THAT OCCURS IN CONNECTION WITH USE OF THE GARDEN BY ME OR ANY OF MY GUESTS.
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