Thank you for an amazing 2018!
/Oh my goodness....in having a moment to reflect on our past year, we take in a deep breath of gratitude for our community, volunteers, customers, staff and donors. In the midst of facing changes and challenges, we also dug in a little deeper to who we are and who our community wants us to be.
We scaled back, relied on each other and took time to vision for a strong 2019. We are so excited to show back up on our Sauvie Island farm next year, the gardens and orchard are resting now in preparation for a bountiful season, we have an amazing Advisory Committee who will continue to support and hold us accountable, and Village Market continues to put Good Food first.
Here are some highlights from 2018:
Neighborhood youth have snacked on 24,054 free apples, bananas and oranges from Village Market.
SNAP and WIC eligible customers at Village Market have gone home with $17,765 of free fresh produce from points earned through our Good Food program.
Over 80 youth and adult gardeners grew XXXXX pounds of vegetables and harvested XXX pounds of fruit to share with North Portland families.
96 volunteers have provided 1,450 hours of care and love to support Village Gardens programs.
A 6-month process to elevate a community vision for the future of Village Gardens is bringing us back to the Sauvie Island farm. To deeply care for the farm - youth leaders, adult gardeners and a farm partner will collaborate to grow food for North Portland neighbors.
Along with 8 other potlucks, gatherings and community celebrations, we hosted Village Market's 7th birthday party and neighbors came out to celebrate and raise $7,500.
We so appreciate everyone who had our backs this year and helped make this all happen.
We literally couldn't (and wouldn't) do it without you.
With appreciation,
all of us at Village Gardens