George Washington University’s GroW Gardens has been providing fresh food to underserved Washingtonians since 2009.
And thanks to a new $10,000 grant from Nature’s Path, an organic food company, the community garden will be enhanced and expanded in order to serve more people.
The GroW Garden projects, which has its main location in Foggy Bottom on H Street between 23rd and 24th streets and a second location on the Mount Vernon Campus, is one of three grant recipients of this year’s Nature’s Path Gardens for Good Program. The program is designed to provide funding to further organic community feeding programs.
“We are honored to receive a 2011 Gardens for Good grant,” said Sophie Waskow, sustainability project facilitator in GW’s Office of Sustainability. “The gardens have served as valuable educational tools and have helped to demonstrate GW’s leadership in the sustainable food space.”
The GroW Gardens have been a collaborative effort within the GW community. A team of students from the university’s landscape design program in the College of Professional Studies designed both spaces. Members of GW”s student-run Food Justice Alliance manage and oversee the gardens. GW students, faculty and staff volunteer weekly in the gardens. The harvest from GW’s gardens is donated to Miriam’s Kitchen, a nonprofit organization in Foggy Bottom that provides nutritious meals, case management and art therapy to the homeless.
George Washington will first use the Gardens for Good grant to expand and enhance its existing gardens. Projects will include creating additional raised beds and a children’s garden box in the Foggy Bottom location, which will provide educational opportunities for local children. Berry bushes will be planted to help protect the gardens. Pathways and benches will be placed throughout the garden to help ensure it remains a strong community space.
Once the existing garden is enhanced and expanded, the university will work to identify additional gardens on other parts of campus.
“As we move forward with creating new gardens on campus, we will engage with our university stakeholders to select and prioritize the best sites. We will look to the newly formed Garden Advisory Committee to help guide that process,” said Ms. Waskow. “The GroW Gardens provide a great service to the Foggy Bottom community and the guests of Miriam’s Kitchen. It is a true urban oasis in the middle of downtown Washington.”