Progress 08/01/12 to 07/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience are people in Camden City with limited incomes and without access to healthy foods. They include, but are not limited to, families with children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. The target audience also iincludes large numbers of African-Americans, Latinos and Camdodian and Vietnamese. For the grant period, Camden Grows, a comprehensive training program for entrepreneurs, was developed. During the grant period, 31 adults and 44 youth participated, exceeding the target of 30 adults and 21 youth. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Monthly Garden Workshops, topics of which were: Introductions and Composting Lessons; Fall Prep Methods/Food Preservation; Crop Rotation/Companion Planning; Tree pruning, Seeding & Transplanting; Spring Planting/Food Systems; Spring Panting/Permaculture; Water Barrel Workshop; Garden Tours & Review and Featured Famers Workshop participants began the program with a wide range of gardening experience. All reported both 1) large gains in their skills and knowledge of food production and preparation and 2) that they put these new abilities into practice, specifically: Entrepreneur Training The training was conducted by the Latin American Economic Development Association (LAECA), an organization dedicated to the creation of small businesses and the development of the marketplace in the communities we serve. Program topics included: The s of Starting a Small Business How to Structure a business Plan Marketing for Business Spending Plan and Credit Bookkeeping 1 Collingswood Farmers Market Site Visit Food Emersion Retreats - the program included weekend Food System Emersion Retreats - one for adults and one for youth. 4, Urban Farms - there are 3 Urban Farms ( 2 1 ½ acre and 1 half acre). These farms provided teaching/learning spaces as well as generated food which was shared by selling at low cost to Camden residents and distributing surplus to food pantries and to local soup kitchens that provide meals for the needy. Camden Grows incorporated Featured Farmers into mobile market sites and farm stand. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Program results and outcomes have been disseminated to communities of interest through social media, Garden Club membership and meetings, newsletters, vertical response (similar to Constant Contact). Also, to communities of interest through a program BBQ where participants bring a buddy interested in the program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is the Final Report for Camden Grows,
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Camden Grows, an initiative to produce and distribute increasing amounts of acccessible fresh produce to residents of Camden, New Jersey - documented as the poorest city of its size - is a comprehensive, intense training program to become urban farmers and agri-business entrepreneurs. Through Camden Grows, 31 community gardeners and 44 youth gardeners participated in the training, exceeding the goal of 30 and 21 respectively. There are four components of the training program: Monthly Garden Workshops; Entrepreneur Training; Food Emersion Retreats and Urban Farms. Monthly Garden Workshops, topics included: Introductions and Composting Lessons; Fall Prep Methods/Food Preservation; Crop Rotation/Companion Planning; Tree pruning, Seeding & Transplanting; Spring Planting/Food Systems; Spring Panting/Permaculture; Water Barrel Workshop; Garden Tours & Review and Featured Farmers. Workshop participants began the program with a wide range of gardening experience. Participants gained significant growth and implementation/use of their knowledge and capacities in the following areas: Planting, managing seasons, crop rotation, plant care; Soil science and composting; Pest management; Fruit tree care; Water management; Food Preservation; Cooking ; Business Participants: Grew significantly more food (100%); Cooked and ate significantly more vegetables (79%); Extended the season further (74%); Distributed food via new outlets (58%) More than half of participants also cited relationships, cooperation, and support from other growers in the program as among the outcomes they valued most. Entrepreneur Training The training was conducted by the Latin American Economic Development Association (LAECA), an organization dedicated to the creation of small businesses and the development of the marketplace in the communities we serve. Program topics included: The ABCs of Starting a Small Business; How to Structure a business Plan; Marketing for Business; Spending Plan and Credit; Bookkeeping 1; a Farmers Market Site Visit Participants plan, create and implement new business models. Thirty-one adult participants in the Camden Grows program have completed the entrepreneurial training program, and are growing sufficient food to offer their surplus for sale to the Garden Club. Food Emersion Retreats - the program included weekend Food System Emersion Retreats - one for adults and one for youth. On July 18, 2015, community gardens in Camden, Gloucester City and Pennsauken. were visited. At the Gloucester City Community Garden, participants were given a tour and overview of the garden and topics about what has been accomplished with the help of City officials and their own fundraising efforts to make the garden more sustainable. After the presentation, participants' next stop was the Pennsauken Garden, after which it was back to Camden to visit the Lakeshore Garden, then the Garden Club's Urban Farm at 3rd and Beckett. On August 1, two facilities in Philadelphia were visited: Bartram's Garden where Professor Domenic Vitiello, PhD, the Garden Club's consultant who has been studying Camden community gardens for several years, and now the current Camden Grows Program, guided the group through the Garden; then to NW Philadelphia's SHARE, Along the way, Professor Vitiello had the group participate in a survey designed to help with the final report on the project. The final class was held at the Camden Children's Garden on August 15. Prior to the final three classes, Professor Vitiello scheduled visits to the participants' gardens, to help in the development of the surveys and in preparation of the program's final report to the USDA. Youth Development and Training The youth training programs began in July of each year and intensive training took place during the Summer months for participants in the Camden City Garden Club Youth Employment and Training Program. The lessons related to this grant are as follows: Hosting Birthday Parties / Event Set-up/Festivals/Customer Service / Smile & Greeting Practice/ Events General Guidelines/ Safety and Tool Use/Butterfly House & Lesson Customer Service, How to Make Change (via counting up, not subtracting), Hands on Farm/Urban Garden lesson Introduction to Watersheds & Ground Water Tree Walk/Tree ID Two full days site visits: Philadelphia Water Works to learn water systems and Nature Core to acquire about horticultural careers and different horticultural/agricultural businesses Preparation for Barbeque / PM BBQ for Funders presented by youth Career Exploration In addition, educational trips are part of the curriculum for youth to learn about occupations in food/agriculture industries. Urban Farms - 3 Urban Farms (2 1 ½ acre and 1 half acre) provided teaching/learning spaces as well as generated food which was shared by selling at low cost to Camden residents and distributing surplus to food pantries and to local soup kitchens that provide meals for the needy. Increased Availability of Healthy Food - Domenic Vitiello, PhD, Assistant Professor of City Planning and Urban Studies of the University of Pennsylvania has served as evaluator for Camden Grows. For the three years of the grant program, the Vegetable and Fruit Production totals were: Pounds Replacement value Servings Year 1 54,419 $134,803.18 245,484 Year 2 77,025 $201,983.20 346,605 Year 3 102,510 $288,866.70 466,439 From 2013 - 2015, food production in Camden showed: Extended growing season in spring and fall; Planted and tended fruit trees, berry bushes, and herbs; Harvested more food, and more diverse produce, Cooked, preserved, ate, and fed others more fresh produce. In the area of food distribution, it was discovered that participants gave food from their gardens to friends; neighbors; extended family; strangers. food pantries, homeless shelters, and other emergency feeding programs. Participants also reported giving food from their gardens to co-workers, homeless neighbors, residents of a retirement home, students at a school, and at church. Camden City Garden Club's Mobile Market/Farm Market - FEATURED FARMER Since 2013, the Mobile Market has brought fresh produce to Camden residents. The specially equipped truck travels throughout the community, working in conjunction with a permanent Farm market operated at the Garden Club's Camden Children's Garden site on the Camden waterfront. The Mobile Market/Farm Market provides Camden Grows program participants to become Featured Farmers who apply their marketing skills and entrepreneurial skills. Evaluation Evaluations were distributed at the end of each workshop, as well as Pre and Post surveys to evaluate content knowledge. Some observations: found the hands-on workshops, the most valuable; next most valuable the Full Day Retreat when other organizations were visited that provided concrete examples of similar work being done nearby; offered topic suggestion not covered/considered: lesson/visit about beekeeping; a lesson to learn more about weeds and poisonous plants; the canning/preserving session be modified to two, consecutive days; shorten the length of workshops from the 9-3 format to a 9-1; or have the 1 - 3 segment strictly a speaker or a hands on activity; increase the number of take-home products for use in their gardens by attempting to attract product support from the industry; re the entrepreneurial program: be required to "SELL GARDEN PRODUCTS" at our produce stand.; more in depth training on Retail products such as "Square" youth suggested more media exposure and more hands-on practice in public relations and marketing; "spread the word" by attending local school open houses and or "back to school nights", or request permission to attend a school assembly program; would have liked to have been able to promote the program at local non-profits and or have a "youth-night" held at our location
Publications
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Progress 08/01/13 to 07/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Operated by the Camden City Garden Club, Camden Grows, is a comprehensive initiative designed to produce and distribute increasing amounts of fresh produce in accessible ways to residents of Camden, New Jersey – documented as the poorest city of its size. Through Camden Grows, 30 community gardeners and 21 youth gardeners participate in intense training to become urban farmers and agri-business entrepreneurs. Camden Grows creates a model for urban agriculture by expanding urban farms in the City as active learning centers for Camden and other low income urban residents. It increases the availability and use of healthy foods, especially fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, through developing additional acreage, education, marketing, sales and food bank distribution. Camden Grows has developed a comprehensive training program for entrepreneurs. The first year of the program supported 11 adults and 10 youth participants. In addition, CCGC’s 12 participants in its Youth Employment and Job Training Program were offered programs related to urban farming and entrepreneurial as part of their summer training and paid work experience. To date, 11 adults and 9 youth are participating in the second year of the program. Our target audience is people in Camden with limited incomes and access to healthy foods. This includes, but is not limited to, families with children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Changes/Problems: Evaluations were distributed at the end of each workshop. Pre and Post surveys were also distributed to evaluate their content knowledge. Suggestions to refine and improve the program included: • More cooking and/or canning together, beyond the activities at the retreat. • Re-visiting some of the sites where participants worked earlier in the season, to see how they are growing. • Engaging with different sorts of local institutions in and around Camden, including supermarkets, food processors, soup kitchens, etc. • Learning more about community gardens and urban farms in other cities. • A parent-child workshop in which participants bring their children and/or grandchildren. The Camden City Garden Club has made significant advances in achieving the goals of the Camden Grows program in the past year. The Program has expanded and strengthened the Farm Market at the Camden Children’s Garden and the three Urban Farms in the City. Camden Grows has incorporated Featured Famers into the Mobile Market/Farm Stand, which brings fresh food to Camden residents. To date, twenty-two adult entrepreneurs have participated in the Program’s training sessions and are actively working in growing food, distributing it for free to their neighbors and donating and/or selling their food for sale at low costs for CCGC’s produce sale distribution. The Urban Farms are flourishing and producing food which has transformed access to food for City residents. Participants are also applying their food preservation skills, using surplus produce, which is supplementing their food supply, to be shared with neighbors. Participants have also bartered surplus produce with program participants and garden club members and interest/participation has increased. Camden Grows will continue to advance and improve as future plan will be implemented in its final year, the Fall of 2014. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? 1.Monthly Garden Workshops: Introductions and Composting Lesson Fall Preparation Methods and Food Preservation Crop Rotation & Companion Planting Tree Pruning, Seeding & Transplanting Spring Planting & Food Systems Spring Planting & Permaculture Water Barrel Workshop Garden Tours & Review Featured Famers Garden Tours & Review 2.Entrepreneur Training: Gabriela Sanchez, Technical Assistance Coordinator, with the Latin American Economic Development Association, Inc. facilitated the entrepreneurial training program. The LAEDA Team is dedicated to the creation of small business ownership opportunities for all minorities, to contribute to the growth and success of small businesses and the development of the marketplace in the communities we serve. LAEDA provided entrepreneurial sessions for participants in the program. An outline of the Entrepreneurial Program: November 2, 2013 - The ABC’s of Staring a Small Business January 4, 204 - How to Structure a Business Plan February 1, 2014 - Marketing for Business March 15, 2024 - Spending Plan & Credit April 5, 2014 - Bookkeeping 1 May 3, 2014 - Collingswood Farmers Market 3.Food Emersion Retreats The program includes weekend Food System Emersion Adult Retreats – one for adults and one for youth participants each year. Youth Development and Training The youth training program began in July and intensive training will take place during the Summer months for the 12 participants in the Camden City Garden Club Youth Employment and Training Program. The lessons related to this grant are as follows: July 2: Hosting Birthday Parties / Event Set-up/Festivals/Customer Service / Smile & Greeting Practice/ Events July 9: General Guidelines/ Safety and Tool Use/Butterfly House & Lesson July 16: Customer Service, How to Make Change (via counting up, not subtracting), Aquarium Gate July 23: Farm/Urban Garden lesson July 30: Introduction to Watersheds & Ground Water August 6: Tree Walk/Tree ID August 12/13: USDA Youth Food Immersion Retreat August 20: AM Preparation for Barbeque / PM BBQ for Funders presented by youth August 27: Career Exploration 4. Urban Farms Camden Grows is finding ways to create urban farms which will serve as places to grow, purchase, share and barter for food while teaching local residents about self-sufficiency, nutrition and resources available to them. To date there are three urban farm sites – two located at 3rd and Becket Streets and one located in East Camden operated by a non-profit, (BPSOS), Boat People SOS, consisting of mainly the Vietnamese Population. These farms provide teaching/learning spaces as well as generate food which we share by selling at low cost to Camden residents and distributing surplus to food pantries and to local soup kitchens providing meals for the needy. Camden Grows was also able to incorporate Featured Farmers into mobile market sites and farm stand. Camden City Garden Club’s Mobile Market/ Farm Market – FEATURED FARMER The Camden City Garden Club has been operating a comprehensive Mobile Market to bring fresh produce to Camden residents since the Spring, 2013. The Mobile Market which travels in a new specially equipped truck throughout the community works in conjunction with a permanent Farm Market operated on the Camden waterfront at the Camden City Garden Club’s Camden Children’s Garden location on weekends throughout the spring, summer and fall months. The Mobile Market/ Farm Market providesa place for program participants to become Featured Farmers at mobile market stops and farm stand. Featured Farmers are able to showcase their market products grown and produced in Camden and apply their marketing skills and entrepreneurial skills. It also provides employment for youth who participate in the Youth Employment and Training Program. Youth participants are working with the Mobile Market and Farm Stand. All 17 youth in the Youth Employment and Training Program have shifts working on the Farm Stand and some at the Mobile Market as well during the summer months. Entrepreneurs’ Participation Participants are encouraged to plan, create and implement new business models. Currently, three adult participants are growing enough food to offer their surplus for sale to the Camden City Garden Club. One is being paid on a regular basis for produce grown and others have chosen to donate excess products to the Camden City Garden Club. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been disseminated to communities of interest through social media, membership, garden meetings, newsletters, vertical response, which is similar to Constant Contact. We also decimate to communities of interest through a program BBQ, where particpants are encouraged to bring a buddy interested in the program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Our year program will incorporate suggestions from our year two evaluations into our year three planning. Camden Grows also plans to incorporate volunteer hours at the Beckett Street Urban Farm and Mobile Market.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Operated by the Camden City Garden Club, Camden Grows, is a comprehensive initiative designed to produce and distribute increasing amounts of fresh produce in accessible ways to residents of Camden, New Jersey – documented as the poorest city of its size. Through Camden Grows, 30 community gardeners and 21 youth gardeners participate in intense training to become urban farmers and agri-business entrepreneurs. Camden Grows creates a model for urban agriculture by expanding urban farms in the City as active learning centers for Camden and other low income urban residents. It increases the availability and use of healthy foods, especially fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, through developing additional acreage, education, marketing, sales and food bank distribution. Camden Grows has developed a comprehensive training program for entrepreneurs. The first year of the program supported 11 adults and 10 youth participants. In addition, CCGC’s 12 participants in its Youth Employment and Job Training Program were offered programs related to urban farming and entrepreneurial as part of their summer training and paid work experience. To date, 11 adults and 9 youth are participating in the second year of the program. There are four main components of the training program: 1.Monthly Garden Workshops: Introductions and Composting Lesson Fall Preparation Methods and Food Preservation Crop Rotation & Companion Planting Tree Pruning, Seeding & Transplanting Spring Planting & Food Systems Spring Planting & Permaculture Water Barrel Workshop Garden Tours & Review Featured Famers Garden Tours & Review 2.Entrepreneur Training: Gabriela Sanchez, Technical Assistance Coordinator, with the Latin American Economic Development Association, Inc. facilitated the entrepreneurial training program. The LAEDA Team is dedicated to the creation of small business ownership opportunities for all minorities, to contribute to the growth and success of small businesses and the development of the marketplace in the communities we serve. LAEDA provided entrepreneurial sessions for participants in the program. An outline of the Entrepreneurial Program: November 2, 2013 - The ABC’s of Staring a Small Business January 4, 204 - How to Structure a Business Plan February 1, 2014 - Marketing for Business March 15, 2024 - Spending Plan & Credit April 5, 2014 - Bookkeeping 1 May 3, 2014 - Collingswood Farmers Market 3.Food Emersion Retreats The program includes weekend Food System Emersion Adult Retreats – one for adults and one for youth participants each year. Youth Development and Training The youth training program began in July and intensive training will take place during the Summer months for the 12 participants in the Camden City Garden Club Youth Employment and Training Program. The lessons related to this grant are as follows: July 2: Hosting Birthday Parties / Event Set-up/Festivals/Customer Service / Smile & Greeting Practice/ Events July 9: General Guidelines/ Safety and Tool Use/Butterfly House & Lesson July 16: Customer Service, How to Make Change (via counting up, not subtracting), Aquarium Gate July 23: Farm/Urban Garden lesson July 30: Introduction to Watersheds & Ground Water August 6: Tree Walk/Tree ID August 12/13: USDA Youth Food Immersion Retreat August 20: AM Preparation for Barbeque / PM BBQ for Funders presented by youth August 27: Career Exploration 4. Urban Farms Camden Grows is finding ways to create urban farms which will serve as places to grow, purchase, share and barter for food while teaching local residents about self-sufficiency, nutrition and resources available to them. To date there are three urban farm sites – two located at 3rd and Becket Streets and one located in East Camden operated by a non-profit, (BPSOS), Boat People SOS, consisting of mainly the Vietnamese Population. These farms provide teaching/learning spaces as well as generate food which we share by selling at low cost to Camden residents and distributing surplus to food pantries and to local soup kitchens providing meals for the needy. Camden Grows was also able to incorpaorate Featured Farmers into mobile market sites and farm stand. Increased Availability of Healthy Food CCGC has increased the access to healthy foods for Camden residents. Domenic Vitiello, Assistant Professor of City Planning and Urban Studies, University of Pennsylvania, who serves as evaluator for the Garden Club’s program has estimated that CCGC supports the production of more than $2.3 million in produce, in gardens on more than 27 acres in the City, and offers fresh food to at least 15% of the City’s population (estimated to be 76,000 residents). CCGC will continue to expand this number over the year. As of mid-June 2014, participants have harvested over 1,035 pounds of spring crops from 14 gardens/urban farms. Nine out of ten participants reported planting more spring crops and extending the season more than they ever have and all reported gaining useful new knowledge and skills that they are applying in cultivating their gardens this season. Participants are growing 30 fruit trees and almost 500 square feet of berry bushes – roughly half are new this year – resulting from participant’s connections through Camden Grows. More fruit trees and berry bushes will be planted this fall with the result of a significant diversification of food crops grown in Camden gardens and a substantial “perennializing” of some gardens. The three most common distribution outlets for participants’ harvest thus far (in order of prevalence): donation to neighbors, friends and families, and home use and sales via the Camden City Garden Club’s new mobile market and Farm Stand. All participants report an increase in donations and home use over past years. The Mobile Market is a source of distribution and income for some participants. More detailed information about participants’ distribution and use of their harvest will be collected via in-depth interviews this Summer.
Publications
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Progress 08/01/12 to 07/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audience is people in Camden with limited incomes and without access to healthy foods. This includes, but is not limited to, families with children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Our target population includes large numbers of African Americans, Latinos including persons of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent and Cambodian and Vietnamese peoples of Asian descent. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? There are four main components of the training program: Monthly Garden Workshops: The purpose of this workshop series is to improve gardening and organizing skills. November 17 Introductions, Program Orientation and Food Systems: This session included a presentation by project directors – Mike Devlin and Valerie Frick, Alison Hastings from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Council, Camden City Councilperson Deborah Polk and Andrea Ferich, a consultant and former director of Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET). December 1 Land/Soil Monsignor Michael Doyle spokeabout social justice. Apractical workshopincluded gardening and product development. January 19 Growing Fruit Mark Doorley, President of CFET, spoke to the group and then there were presentations about Philadelphia Orchard Project and Camden’s Adopt a Lot. February 2 Gardening and Cooking for Your Health This workshop introduced nutrition concepts including lessons on grilling and broiling instead of frying. (This session was postponed due to snow and will be rescheduled in the early fall). February 9 Seeds This workshop presented by the Philly Seed Exchange explored how to grow plants from seed and how to start and exchange seeds. Participants learned how to plant seeds and looked through several seed catalogues. Best practices were stressed. March 16 Getting Your Garden Started This workshop concentrated on planning and planting spring gardens. It looked at ways of engaging youth and families in Camden communities in your community gardens. May 4 Farm Markets This workshop explored ways of getting word out about availability of products through emails blasts, social networking and other kinds of inexpensive marketing. June 1 Water This workshop explored the issue of water including water conservation, tapping a water hydrant and water barrel workshop, and the use of cisterns. August 17 Fall Planting and Harvest This workshop will include Garden Tours of existing community and home gardens and exploration of fall planting and harvesting. September 21 Product Preservation This workshop will explore product preservation, freezing, dehydrating, drying herbs, and canning. (2)Entrepreneur Training: Kelly Ewing, a consultant with expertise in small business development, provided entrepreneurial sessions for participants in the program. As an experienced business developer in his firm JAE Associates he brought to the program participants inspiration for starting a business as well as the basic practical training. December 8 Professionalizing Your Business/Protecting Your Assets; Incorporation; Deciding on a type of business, Introduction to Business Plans and Marketing Plan January 19 Writing a Business Plan Part1 Participants begin to develop their business plans and start to put pieces of their plan to use in developing a roadmap to business operations. They also planned and practiced an elevator speech. February 16, Writing a Business Plan Part 2 Participants will further develop their business plans and identify potential funders and partners to implement their plan. March 9 Shoebox Accounting In this quick “Down and Dirty” workshop, program participants learned a simple yet effective method of keeping track of income and expenses. March 20 Shoebox Marketing Participants learned basic marketing strategies and techniques to expand their businesses, locate partners and outlets to expand their Market Share September 14 Return on Investment? Pricing Strategies This workshop will help entrepreneurs determine if their product is priced correctly and if they are making a profit. (3)Food Emersion Retreats: The program includes weekend Food System Emersion Retreats – one for adults and one for youth participants each year. Our first year retreat was offered July 6 through 7 with the Camden-based Center for Environmental Transformation. This program was custom designed to enable our participants to explore issues related to understanding their community and better serving them. Participants explored topics related to community gardening, volunteerism, service, business development and worked to find ways to involve their neighbors in the process. Special training was provided to help adult participants develop skills to recruit and maintain youth as part of their programs. In this retreat, we focused on food immersion. Participants harvested and prepared four meals. Youth have their own retreat with scheduled workshops and programming for July 20 and 21. They will explore various venues for the development of cottage industries in areas such as value added products and cash crops. Participants will harvest locally grown foods, focused on the goodness of eating in season, with a harvest, and participate in cooking demonstrations. (4) Youth Development and Training The youth training program began in July and the intensive training will take place during the summer months for the 12 participants in the Camden City Garden Club Youth Employment and Training Program. The lessons related to thisproject are as follows: General Guidelines/ Safety and Tool Use/Watering; Birthday Parties / Festivals / Smile & Greeting Practice/ Butterfly House Lessons; Trip to Duffield Farms; Portion Distortion & Sugar Shock; Farm to Fork Lesson Field Trip toTortilla Press Restaurant and meeting with Chef Mark Smith , restaurant owner and CCGC partner); Preparation for Barbeque / PM BBQ for Funders presented by youth; Yummy Yummy Plant Parts & My Plate Trip; Trip (Longwood Gardens – major botanical garden including viewing plants related to agriculture). Other topics included: Financial Literacy; Resumes; Life Skills; Workplace Behaviors; Communication Skills; Public Speaking. We work in partnership with Whole Food Markets which provides learning opportuntiies to youth. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? As this is the first year of operating the porgram we have not yet disseminated results. We plan to make presentations about the project to networks we belong to including the Greater Philadelphia Gardens (an organization of over 40 public gardens in the region), the American Horitcultura Society Children and Youth Programs Symposium , the American Community Gardening Assocation and through the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society with which we partner as exhibitors at the Philadelphia Flower Show. We will share our results through social media and press releases to reach targeted audiences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In the next year we will recruit and select new participants for the program and offer additional workshops including Saturday entrepreneurial workshops, horticultural workshops and youth training. We will offer Weekend Retreats - one for youth and one for adults. We will continue to develop entrepreneurial opportunities for participants including growing food to be sold to CCGC Farm Market and Mobile Market working in the city. We will further develop urban farms and community gardens which offer farmers and gardeners opportunities to earn money and produce food for the city. We will offer employment to youth and adults for the market. We will evaluate the change in the food supply that has resulted from this program
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Camden Grows is a comprehensive initiative designed to produce and distribute an increased amount of fresh produce in accessible ways to the residents of Camden, New Jersey – documented as the poorest city of its size in America. The Camden City Garden Club has been operating a new program, “Camden Grows” – an urban entreprenurship program to enable current community gardeners who are growing surpluses to expand their gardening efforts to become farmers and grow larger surpluses of vegetables, fruits and herbs and develop food products for sale in the city.Camden Grows has developed a comprehensive training program for entrepreneurs. To date, 11 adults and 10 youth are participating in the first year of the program. In addition, CCGC’s 12 participants in our Youth Employment and Job Training Program are being offered programs related to urban farming and entpreenurship as part of their summer training and paid work experience program. There aresix main components of the program (training components 1 to 4 described in detail in block below): (1) Monthly Garden Workshops: The purpose of this workshop series is to improve gardening and organizing skills. (2)Entrepreneur Training (3) Food Emersion Retreats (4) Youth Development and Training The youth training program began in July and the intensive training will take place during the summer months for the 12 participants in the Camden City Garden Club Youth Employment and Training Program. In addition to training, educational trips are planned where the youth will learn about occupations in the food and agriculture industry. Trips are planned to Duffield Farms, a local cafeteria which prepares food for school children, a local bakery, a restaurant, The Tortilla Press where the chef sources local and seasonal produce and to the Collingswood Farmer’s Market. (5) Urban Farms Camden Grows is finding ways to create urban farms which will serve as places to grow, purchase, share and barter for food while teaching local residents about self-sufficiency, nutrition and resources available to them. To date there arefour urban farm sites – two located at 3rd and Becket Streets and one in East Camden operated by a non-profit, Boat People SOS,serving mainly the Vietnamese Population and an acre at Saint Anthony's parish serving the Latino community in Cramer Hill. These farms provide teaching/learning spaces as well as generate food which we share by selling at low cost to Camden residents and distributing surplus to food pantries and to local soup kitchens providing meals for the needy. Additional farms are planned for the next two years of the project. (6) New Businesses Camden City Garden Club’s Mobile Market/ Farm Market The Camden City Garden Club (CCGC) has been operating a comprehensive Mobile Market to bring fresh produce to Camden residents since spring, 2013. The program has received over $150,000 in support from Whole Foods Market, Walmart Foundation, the Philadelphia Foundation and the Dolfinger McMahon Foundation. The Mobile Market which travels in a new specially equipped truck throughout the community works in conjunction with a permanent Farm Market operated on the Camden waterfront at the CCGC’s Camden Children’s Garden location on weekends throughout the spring, summer and fall months. The Mobile Market/Farm Market provides a place to market products grown and produced in Camden as well as bring in products from local farmers. The Mobile Market/ Farm Market provide full-time employment for two youth who participated in the training program. The Farm Market is also managed by these youth and provides paid part-time jobs for the 16 youth who work at the Camden City Garden Club as part of our Youth Employment and Job Training Program. CCGC built a refrigerated trailer on the Pack ‘n’ Cool model using plans from North Carolina State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute mobile refrigeration trailer. The trailer combines the mobility of a cargo trailer with the refrigeration capabilities of a commercial cooler in a more cost-efficient package. The trailer was insulated and a window unit air conditioner was installed with a “cool-bot” a device that over-rides the air conditioner’s thermostat, to refrigerate the produce. Entrepreneurs Participation Participants are encouraged to plan, create and implement new business models. Currently two adult participants are growing enough food to offer their surplus for sale to the Camden City Garden Club. One is being paid on a regular basis for produce grown and their other has chosen to donate his excess product to the Camden City Garden Club. Out of the youth participants, two are working full time as staff members of the Camden City Garden Club with their primary duties operating the Mobile Market and Farm Stand. There are three other participants from the program working in the Farm Stand and Mobile Market. All 16 youth in Youth Employment and Training Program will have shifts working on the Farm Stand and some at the Mobile Market as well during the summer months. We will continue to recruit and train additional participants for year two. Increased Availability of Healthy Food CCGC has increased the access to healthy foods for Camden residents. Domenic Vitiello, Professor of the University of Pennsylvania, who serves as evaluator for our program has estimated that the CCGC supports the production of more than $2.3 million in produce, in gardens on more than 27 acres in the city, and offering fresh food to at least 15% of the City of Camden’s population (estimated to be 76,000 residents). CCGC will continue to expand this number over the year. As of mid-June, participants have harvested over 1,035 pounds of spring crops from 14 gardens/urban farms. Nine out of ten participants reported planting more spring crops and extending the season more than they ever have and all reported gaining useful new knowledge and skills that they are applying in cultivating their gardens this season. Participants are growing 30 fruit trees and almost 500 square feet of berry bushes – roughly half of these are new this year – resulting from participant’s connections through Camden Grows. More fruit trees and berry bushes will be planted this fall with the result of a significant diversification of food crops grown in Camden gardens and a substantial “perennializing” of some gardens. The three most common distribution outlets for participants’ harvest thus far (in order of prevalence) donation to neighbors, friends and families; home use and sales via the Camden City Garden Club’s new mobile market and Farm Stand. All participants report an increase in donations and home use over past years. The Mobile Market as a source of distribution (and income for some participants) is new this year. More detailed information about participants’ distribution and use of their harvest will be collected via in-depth interview this summer.
Publications
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