4. "A garden for every child, every child in a garden."

5. 6.5 million American children live in a food desert (USDA)

6. Urban Gardens for Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness

7.  Pittsburgh, PA, est. 1999  Mission: To advance the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County by: Providing educational programs and services Serving as a trusted advocate Sharing expertise Facilitating collaborative relationships that maximize the collective impact among community partners [Homeless Education Network (HEN)]  27 partnering homeless housing providers who serve families with children

8.  Afterschool and summer programs  Enrichment workshops  Backpacks and school supplies  Educational projects and field trips  Scholarships  Professional development for homeless housing provider staff  Homeless Education Network (HEN)

9.  Over 1,700 school-aged children experiencing homelessness  Under-identified groups include: 0-5, recent graduates, dropouts, unaccompanied youth, and any child whose family has not identified themselves to the school staff

10. Children experiencing homelessness versus stably housed peers…  Health 4 times as likely to get sick  Nutrition 2 times more likely to go hungry Have high rates of obesity due to nutritional deficiencies  Mental Health 4 times as likely to have delayed development 3 times as likely to have emotional or behavioral problems  Family Bonding

11.  Equip participants with practical gardening skills (Nutrition)  Encourage family activities (Mental Health, Family Bonding)  Increase interest in healthy eating and meal preparation (Health, Nutrition)  Encourage physical activity outdoors (Health, Mental Health)  Decrease stress and anxiety (Mental Health)  Enrichment, Education, Fun

12.  Project Homeless Connect (San Francisco): Created a community garden for both homeless and housed San Franciscans  Green Millennium Children’s Garden (Pittsburgh): Transformed a vacant lot into a fruit, vegetable, and flower garden for children in foster care  Homeless Garden Project (Santa Cruz): Three-acre farm at homeless provider agency  Edible Schoolyard (Berkeley): "Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard" Video "Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard" Video

13. Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh To end intimate partner violence in the lives of women and their children Healthy Start House Transitional Living To provide a safe environment and supportive services to homeless women and their infants and children to help them prepare for independent living

14. Grow Pittsburgh To demonstrate, teach and promote responsible urban food production “Grow Pittsburgh Organization” Video Plant to Plate, University of Pittsburgh Teach students how to grow their own food, take them into the kitchen to learn how to cook it, and then let them give back to the community by teaching others “Grow Pittsburgh Organization” Video

15.  January: Focus group with interested homeless providers  March: Evaluation of potential garden sites  March: Gardening training for homeless provider staff at pilot agencies  May: Volunteers help prep raised beds  April-August: On-site workshops  August: Field trip to conservatory and botanical gardens  August: Staff/parent/student surveys

16. April: Newspaper Pot Making and Seed Starting

17.  Grow Light  Pot Makers  Seeds  Potting Mix  Watering Can  Seedling Tray  Workshop Fee $300 Raised beds were built using previous “Mini-Grant” funding from HCEF

18. May: Transplanting

19.  Seeds  Compost  Top Soil  Potting Mix  Wooden Plant Labels  Lumber  Bracket  Workshop Fee $470

20. June : Composting

21.  Mulch  Gravel  Garden Fork  Compost  Garden Claw  Sign Wood  Workshop Fee  Compost bins $200 $155

22. July/August: Harvest Celebration

23.  Fall Crops  Cover Crops  Garden Art Supplies  Raspberries  Pizza Ingredients  Workshop Fee $280

24.  Additional Grow Pittsburgh visits More soil and transplanting Trellising and planting carrots Planting raspberries in edible landscape Fall planting plan Pest management  Plant to Plate Bugs Fruit vs. Vegetable Water  Unexpected Outcomes Field trip to urban farm during summer camp program New projects with edible landscapes and therapeutic gardening

25.  An estimated 50 children and 30 moms participated in the program  Homeless provider staff, moms, and children were surveyed after the last gardening workshop

26. Issues to Address: Children experiencing homelessness versus stably housed peers…  Health 4 times as likely to get sick  Nutrition 2 times more likely to go hungry  Mental Health 4 times as likely to have delayed development 3 times as likely to have anxiety or depression  Family Bonding Project Goals: Equip participants with practical gardening skills (Nutrition) Encourage family bonding (Mental Health, Family Bonding) Increase interest in healthy eating and meal preparation (Health, Nutrition) Encourage physical activity outdoors (Health, Mental Health) Decrease stress and anxiety (Mental Health) Enrichment, Education, Fun

27. Goal: Encourage family bonding Goal: Decrease stress and anxiety

28. Goal: Encourage physical activity outdoors

29. Goal: Increase interest in healthy eating and meal preparation

30. Goal: Increase interest in healthy eating and meal preparation (cont.)

31.  Goal: Equip participants with practical gardening skills

32.  “I found it a great experience. I see how the children enjoy learning about planting and see them enjoy the fruits of labor by eating and enjoying what they planted and cared for.” – Staff  “I like gardening with my son. It’s a bonding experience.” – Parent  “It reminds me of my mom.” – Parent  “I like to eat what we have grown.” – Child  “I love the smell of basil.” -Child

33.  “Getting them to water!” - Staff  “Keeping the garden protected from destruction when the parents are not supervising children.” – Staff  “Worms; dirt.” - Parent  “Waiting for it to grow to eat it, lol.” – Parent  “When plants get hurt.” - Child

34.  Project Challenges  Scope of project vs. capacity  Outdoor space limitations  Predicting costs  University internship schedules  High turnover of participants  Sometimes low number of participants  Plans for 2014  Same workshop format at different homeless housing provider organizations  Check-ins and assistance for 2013 gardens  Project intern

35.  Questions to Consider  What are my top priorities and desired outcomes? (e.g. food production, skill building, nutrition, family bonding)  Who will be the participants? (e.g. parents, children, shelter staff)  Will participants be coming and going or does the facility provide long-term housing?  Who will my partners be? (e.g. shelters, non-profit organizations, community gardening groups, university students)  Is there space available for a garden or container garden? Is there a nearby community garden to link up with?  Are shelter staff committed to caring for the garden and keeping the project going?

36. Carrie Pavlik, Education Services Manager, HCEF cpavlik@homelessfund.org, 412-562-0154 x200 Bill Wolfe, Executive Director, HCEF wwolfe@homelessfund.org, 412-562-0154 x203 cpavlik@homelessfund.org wwolfe@homelessfund.org

37. References and More Information  United States School Gardens http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/content.php?pid=46894&sid=345414 http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/content.php?pid=46894&sid=345414  USDA Food Desert Study http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/FAQ.aspx http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/FAQ.aspx  Physical and Mental Effects of Homelessness http://www.familyhomelessness.org/children.php?p=ts http://www.familyhomelessness.org/children.php?p=ts  Project Homeless Connect www.projecthomelessconnect.com/ www.projecthomelessconnect.com/  Green Millennium Children’s Garden http://old.post-gazette.com/garden/20020706backyard3.asp http://old.post-gazette.com/garden/20020706backyard3.asp  Homeless Garden Project http://www.homelessgardenproject.org/ http://www.homelessgardenproject.org/  "Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard" Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVrnqZsghHk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVrnqZsghHk  “Grow Pittsburgh Organization” Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to3sptah2Bo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to3sptah2Bo