Harvest for the hungry garden
Funding partner
A Harvest for the Hungry Garden volunteer.
California-based Harvest for the Hungry Garden has been addressing issues of food security with organic gardening and a culture of giving since 1987. On less than an acre of land in the city of Santa Rosa, the organization lives out its motto “Habitat for People, Plants + Gardens.” Today, Harvest for the Hungry Garden donates a whopping 25,000 to 30,000 lbs of organically grown produce to five different food programs across the region.
If it sounds to you like this organization and Sustainable Harvest International would have a lot in common, then you’d be absolutely correct!
That’s certainly what Harvest for the Hungry Garden volunteer Martin Cibulka thought when he met SHI staff at their booth at the Green Festival in San Francisco back in 2007. He struck up a great conversation and thought the organization was doing incredible work with sustainable farming.
As luck would have it, Harvest for the Hungry Garden had been looking for an organization to support. So, Martin took a few SHI brochures back to the board of directors, and they were immediately sold. That very year, the board adopted SHI as the primary recipient of the Garden's plant sale proceeds.
Harvest for the Hungry Garden’s plant sales are legendary. A local newspaper referred to them as "the mother of all plant sales." Katie Torgerson, another Garden volunteer, raises baby plants in her greenhouse to sell at the plant sales. "I start about 3,000 tomato plants, 2,000 pepper plants, and maybe 100 eggplants," she says. Katie explains that they also sell habitat plants at the sale and keep prices low so they remain affordable to all. Even with low prices, the Garden celebrates wildly successful plant sales that, year after year, generate significant profits for SHI.
Harvest for the Hungry Garden has been giving to SHI for 14 years, and several board members donate personally, too.
A shared mission
Strengthening local food systems is essential to Harvest for the Hungry Garden. The Garden itself operates on less than one acre and provides produce to multiple local food pantries and charitable organizations. Martin's wife runs one of food pantries and coordinates what the Garden will provide so she can suggest recipes for families that include those produce items.
With this mindset, it's easy to see why Katie and Martin are fans of SHI's work. "SHI tackles multiple important issues at once, improving the lives of people in less developed countries in a helpful, sustainable way," Martin says. Katie adds, "Our basic philosophy is feeding people healthy food, and that's what SHI is called to do, as well."
“SHI tackles multiple important issues at once, improving the lives of people in less developed countries in a helpful, sustainable way.”
Katie and Martin admire how SHI teaches farmers so that they can farm independently. "After five years, they're on their own, and they can share what they've learned from SHI with others," says Martin. "They know they can grow diverse food." From strengthening food systems and empowering women to the environmental benefits of agroforestry, Harvest for the Hungry Garden is amazed by SHI's work. "We've been so impressed with SHI and everything it's accomplished over the years," says Katie.
