About Gardeneers.
We started with a mission to give students access to healthy foods in schools in food-insecure neighborhoods throughout Chicago.
Since our founding, our sense of mission has evolved. We see our work as social and racial justice work in the form of school garden education. You might notice we don’t use “food desert”. The food inequity we see in our city, and across the country, isn’t a result of natural, ecological conditions, but rather deeply rooted racism.
This is why our talented and passionate Garden Educators ground their lessons in the fact that growing one’s own food is a form of power, and a powerful way indeed to support one’s own community.
Our hope is that one day every human has easy access to fresh, nourishing foods and all communities are healthy and sustainable.
Need.
Funding to support School Garden Programs
Roughly 1/3 of budget traditionally came from annual gala that wasn’t possible in 2020 and unlikely in 2021
Solution.
Secured and funded a partnership with an Experience Design & Event Planning Agency to help create and produce a new fundraising event concept: The Garden Party 2021
Result.
Brought in funding to add two new School Garden Programming.
