Transcript Slide 1

A community garden, greenhouse and education project. Funded since
2010 by small grants. Started with discussions about community
improvement at a Latino leadership workshop.
Primary Method of Participant
Engagement:
• “Popular Education” (Participatory Learning & Action
Research, etc., see http://www.popednews.org/)
• EXAMPLE: poster board - sticky notes
group input activity
QUESTION 1: What
challenges/problems do rural,
under-served Oregonians
face?
QUESTION 2: Which
challenges/problems can be
reduced through a community
garden & education program?
QUESTION 3: How???
Raices Project History 2005-2007: 46 families
Objectives:
1)
Encourage farmworker families to grow home gardens using organic
methods, and build a social support network in doing so.
2)
Build community and self-sufficiency through gardening, in ways that
honor traditions in the Latino culture, and
3)
Examine the impact of gardening on eating habits and food insecurity.
METHODS: Families met regularly to socialize, share information, tips, and extra
vegetables. Families taught each other canning and freezing methods to
battle food insecurity year round. Those without gardening space
encouraged to use the clinic’s community garden or creative alternatives.
Harvest Fiesta each fall with music and a piñata.
RESULTS: Adults eating vegetables several times a day increased by 140% (117%
for children). Adults skipping meals because the family runs out of money
decreased by 78% (100% for children).
Raices helped to
* Teach children that vegetables are rewarding, delicious,
and nutritious,
* Create health promoter families who continue to take
leadership in the community, and
* Re-establish the cultural norm of growing your own food among Latino
farmworkers.
NCS – OHSU Research Project 2009-2010: 42 families
Objective:
Use a participatory research approach to
study the impact of a community
gardening program on vegetable intake,
food security and family relationships of
migrant seasonal farmworker families.
METHOD: Monthly community meetings / Ed. Sessions
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Provide project materials (seeds, etc.).
Discuss gardening (how to choose plants, compost, use organic pest
control, prepare land, maintain garden & harvest vegetables, etc.).
Address concerns of farmworkers – especially pesticide exposure.
Popular education techniques used.
When attendance was low, health promoters delivered education to
participants at their homes.
Harvest Fiesta held in October - families prepared dishes with food
grown in their gardens.
Surveys & Key informant interviews found:
1. Frequency of adult vegetable intake of
‘several times a day’ increased from 18%
to 85%
2. Frequency of children’s intake increased
from 24% to 64%
3. Physical & mental health benefits
reported
4. Economic & family health benefits
reported
CONCLUSIONS: community gardening programs can reduce food
insecurity, improve dietary intake & strengthen family relationships.
See: “Impact of a Community Gardening Project on Vegetable Intake, Food Security and
Family Relationships: A Community Based Participatory Research Study” (Carney, et al.,
Journal of Community Health, December, 2011)
Latino leadership
workshop - 2009
TODAY: Project
seeks to become self
sustaining through
sales. Garden site
moving to gain space.
Community
greenhouse idea
3 more small grants
keep things running
thru 2012
$12k grant for
building
Building site sought
unsuccessfully
Families & staff learn
about greenhouse
operations &
vegetable sales
Old greenhouse
rented – 2010
RAICES
GOALS
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Teaching organic growing practices – classes & workshops to increase
participants’ self reliance through building food production skills
Improving family nutrition & food security through increasing organic produce
available to project members, food banks and buyers at local Farmers' Markets.
Improving project members' health through productive physical activity.
Support development of small enterprise / entrepreneurial projects.
Creating a venue for sharing community and cultural strengths.
Developing an educational site for schools and other groups to conduct
experiments and other educational activities, including service learning /
volunteerism.
Strengthen collaborations between local organizations to improve community
health
CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
• Finding space
• Transportation
• Participant
recruitment
• Running community
project as a business
• Worker-owned co-op
difficult to manage
• Funding
rent it, collaborate with Parks & Rec
gas cards, locate near low income
families, car pool ???
Health promoters spread the
word, collaborate with a church or
other community organizations, &?
Group work parties, staff critical
operations, individual plots + project
plots, develop business & marketing
plans, collaborate with Master
Gardeners, OSU Extension, Gorge
Grown, local farms, etc.
Learn to run project as a business
before becoming a co-op ???
Grants are great, income is better
SUCCESSES
• NCS staff learned A LOT about running a small greenhouse and community
garden enterprise.
• Collaborations initiated.
• Affordable, organic produce & plant starts sold to local families.
• 2011 surveys (13 participants):
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12 reported an improved ability to grow organic vegetables.
12 reported an improved ability to teach and share organic growing practices.
8 reported improved leadership skills since joining the project.
13 reported learning 1 to 3 business related skills through the project.
Future Opportunities
• Larger site on Parks & Rec land, ‘concession’ stand sales
• Collaboration with Gorge Grown to manage educational
season extension plots
• Jesuit Volunteer Corps position may cement collaborations
with Gorge Grown, OSU Extension, FISH food bank
• Build solid link with Community College: service learning &
science education
• Business & marketing plan development through NALCAB
grant
Outreach
Lessons Learned
• Community collaborations KEY for reaching max
number of people
• Under-served can be difficult to reach – try:
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Health promoters (know target community)
Phone calls
Popular Education techniques
Link with local churches, Head Start (?), food banks, other community
groups
Provide help with transportation & child care
Provide lunch at group events
Schedule meetings around heavy farm work times
Home visits
Combine group events with individual garden space or outreach
Group question: HOW can a community
garden / education project reduce challenges
faced by underserved Oregonians?
Some answers from Raices members:
• Education (classes, workshops, field trips): food preservation, nutritious
cooking, planting dates/scheduling, managing pests/disease, organic
fertilizers, organic soil / composting, greenhouse operation/systems,
season extension, business skills
• Form a youth-gardeners club – youth education opportunities
• Donate extra food to local food banks
• Generate income that can be shared with members: Learn to
promote/market our produce better
• Recipe sharing (to learn how to cook new veggies, more nutritious
methods)
• Develop a system for recruiting project members/families
• Bilingual cooking class/recipe exchange to help participants improve
language skills & provide cultural exchange