You might be wondering: what is the purpose of a community garden and why should East Palo Alto residents want or care about having a community garden in their area?
A community garden is a designated area where community members work together to grow vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, and other plants. By doing this, we work together to create something that can have a lasting impact on the whole community and beyond.
The Benefits of Community Gardens
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, the benefits of these projects extend past learning how to grow and cultivate different plants.
Community gardens also:
- Provide opportunities for education
- Improved local economy
- Help give locals food security
Not only that but our specific program is designed to help educate our youth on sustainable practices and teach them skills they can bring home to their families.
Food Security
One of our goals here in East Palo Alto, and one of the main purposes of a community garden, is the benefits of food security.
Garden members (both volunteers and students who sign up) work year-round to grow, cultivate, and then harvest the produce. In this way, community gardens become not just a place to learn about sustainable food, but also a local food source to support the economy and local food distribution.
Not only that, but East Palo Alto is lacking in organic, sustainable food, which is another purpose of having a community garden.
Community Development
As we mentioned above, community gardens are an excellent way for the youth, families, or other volunteers to work together to better our community. It takes a team effort to create a thriving garden full of vegetables and fruits that we can then turn around to give back and support the community food supply.
The youth have the opportunity to actively participate in learning best practices for sustainable living and nutrition, but the benefits don’t stop there. They will also learn skills including teamwork, initiative, communication skills, and leadership.
In addition, community projects like these are volunteer opportunities for students. They can gain knowledge and experience while also completing graduation requirements for volunteer hours and extracurricular activities.
Join Our Community Garden in East Palo Alto
We have a community garden and a weekly farmers market where we aim to promote sustainable living and education to the East Palo Alto Area.
If you are interested in joining our local community garden and you live in the East Palo Alto area, click below for more information.
Donate
Your donation goes directly to maintaining and growing our community garden and farmers’ market. We appreciate all contributions, no matter how big or small.
Volunteer
Are you an experienced gardener, local restaurant owner, chef, or just want to volunteer your time? Click below and come hang out with us at the community garden! Any help is appreciated.
Join the Team
If you are in high school and interested in learning about sustainability, nutrition, and gardening (and earn community service credit!) 2Fresh2Stress is the perfect place for you!