Isles Community Gardens Initiative

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Isles’ Community Gardening and Nutrition Education initiative fosters self-reliance and goes beyond emergency food assistance by providing residents with the skills to grow their own food and improve their nutrition. Low-income Trenton residents face significant barriers to healthy nutrition and food security. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 21% of Trenton’s population live below the poverty level. As a result of such poverty, more than 60% of Trenton school district students (Pre-K to 12) are eligible for free and reduced lunch. In addition, according to a recent Community Food Assessment completed by Rutgers University, there are challenges related to education and eating behaviors that contribute to poor nutrition; few people surveyed were concerned about eating healthy and many either did not know how to cook or preferred to eat pre-prepared meals.

By participating in Isles’ Community Gardening and Nutrition Education initiative, low-income families are able to gain greater food security, stretch food budgets and obtain fresh and nutritious produce. Specifically, the Community Gardening and Nutrition Education initiative benefits the residents of Trenton in three major ways by:

• Providing access to fresh vegetables and improving nutrition. Isles’ community gardens provide access to fruits and vegetables that are low calorie and nutrient rich.
• Stretching food budgets. Studies report that every $1 invested in a community garden plot yields approximately $6 worth of vegetables. In a 2006 survey, Isles’ community gardeners reported an average savings of about $200 dollars per year, per gardener.
• Strengthening community fabric. Isles’ gardeners report that sharing food with friends, families and neighbors is one of the important reasons that they grow produce.

Isles has more than 25 years of experience in supporting community gardeners. Currently, Isles supports more than 30 community gardens and 9 school gardens. The Community Gardening and Nutrition Education initiative addresses the critical issues of hunger relief and nutrition, urban beautification, and open space preservation throughout Trenton. Isles provides technical and organizational assistance to help residents transform neglected parcels of urban land into gardens, parks and playgrounds. Additionally, Isles works with schools to create on-site gardens and to help teach horticulture and nutrition to local students.

This initiative is consistent with Isles’ mission to foster more self-reliance in healthy, sustainable communities in the following ways: (1) residents become more self-reliant by growing their own fresh produce; (2) residents improve their health by learning about and practicing better nutrition habits; and (3) residents practice sustainability by restoring vacant urban land to productive use.

Isles is seeking $110,950 for its Community Gardens Initiative.