2013 END OF YEAR SUMMARY OF SUCCESSES

Transcription

1 2013 END OF YEAR SUMMARY OF SUCCESSES In 2013, Little Green Fingers has been able to complete the construction of its first two community gardens (Mariposa-Nabi Garden in Koreatown and West Athens Victory Garden in South LA) designed especially for needy families with young children. We ve begun our innovative cooking and nutrition programming to help gardeners and their families learn how to eat healthier as well as recently launching to highlight the initiative and to provide gardening and health resources for families. Thanks to significant regional media coverage on the initiative including KABC, KTLA, KMEX, Telemundo, LA Times, LA Sentinel, and La Opinion, we ve been able to share the vision and impact of Little Green Fingers with hundreds of thousands of Southern Californians. MARIPOSA-NABI GARDEN The Mariposa-Nabi garden in Koreatown, which just celebrated its first anniversary, is thriving and was recently highlighted on Univision s national morning program where it was named the healthiest garden in the world. Recently, we completed the first cooking & nutrition program for more than 20 families that consisted of a series of five cooking classes where moms and dads learned how to prepare healthy and nutritious meals. In addition to preparing a meal for more than 80 people to enjoy, the families were also sent home with the complete food ingredients to prepare each meal for their families at home. The cooking program, provided ingredients for families to prepare food to collectively serve 400 family members at home and provided an additional 400 meals that gardener families helped to prepare during the cooking demonstration classes over five weeks. It was particularly heartwarming to see kids from throughout the Koreatown neighborhood descend on the kitchen and partake of a sumptuous community dinner filled with laughter, songs and healthy food. Additional News Coverage and videos on the Mariposa-Nabi Garden can be found here: KTLA NEWS KABC NEWS

2 KMEX - UNIVISION LA TIMES Mariposa Nabi Grand Opening Video Mariposa Nabi Cooking & Nutrition Program Video WEST ATHENS VICTORY GARDEN We were pleased to celebrate the Grand Opening of the West Athens Victory Garden this fall with Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, State Senator Rod Wright and with hundreds of kids and their families. The event was the culmination of a comprehensive community stakeholder design process as well as more than four community workdays that involved hundreds of volunteers including some members of the Southern California Gas Company and the Walt Disney Company who donated their weekend time to help build garden beds, a water cistern and a tricycle path. The impact of transforming an empty one acre lot at 105 th & Normandie in South Los Angeles into a vibrant community garden already is beginning to provide innumerable benefits. The garden is expected to provide a minimum of 6,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables each year for low-income families living in this food desert community where there is little access to affordable, healthy produce. The garden directly serves 40 families with an average family size of 3.5 people per household; the garden will benefit 140 people directly and through partnerships with local schools and their families, it will benefit nearly 10,000 people and indirectly benefit 40,000 people. The garden also will serve the local elementary school (Woodcrest Elementary) that already is planning field trips to the site. The school has 398 students who will directly benefit and they are part of families that make up an additional 1,393 people. We re also setting up a program with the local high school (George Washington Prep) that has 2,130 students who are part of families that make up an additional 7,455 people. The Community Gardeners are currently in the process of completing their Master Gardener training and will soon begin a cooking and nutrition educational program.

3 Additional News Coverage of the West Athens Victory Garden can be found here: Lastreetblog.org Laopinion.com LASentinal.net Ridley-Thomas.LAcounty.gov

4 PHOTOS COOKING PROGRAMS: Caption: Community members help prepare the fruits of their labors at the Mariposa Nabi Garden. Little Green Fingers also provides nutrition education and cooking classes to young children and their families, leading to healthier lives and maintaining healthier weights.

5 Cooking Programs: Caption: Family members are hard at work learning new ways to prepare the fruits and vegetables they are growing at the Little Green Fingers Mariposa Nabi Garden.

6 Cooking Programs: Caption: At the Mariposa Nabi Garden, kids wait eagerly for a dinner they have helped to grow and prepare. The Little Green Fingers program works to provide both food and health education to underserved communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

7 Cooking Programs: Caption: At the Mariposa Nabi Garden a group of kids can t wait to eat a meal they (and their parents) have worked hard to make! Little Green Fingers is the only project in LA County that especially serves children ages 0-5.

8 Cooking Programs: Caption: A happy family is ready to dig in at the Mariposa Nabi Garden. The Little Green Fingers project has a unique, robust health component where children and their parents learn more about healthy eating habits and food choices as the program strives to fight the obesity epidemic.

9 Grand Opening Celebration: Caption: Joan McCarthy, the Walt Disney Company s Sr. Manager, Corporate Citizenship and Community Engagement (center) joins LA Conservation Corps Executive Director Bruce Saito (left) and LA Neighborhood Land Trust s Executive Director Alina Bokde (right) at Grand Opening of Little Green Fingers West Athens Victory Garden.

10 Grand Opening Celebration: Caption: LA Conservation Corpsmembers oversaw volunteer and kids activities with the support of Radio Disney at the Grand Opening of Little Green Fingers West Athens Victory Garden.

11 Volunteer Workday: Caption: Treeplanting dedication with Disney VoluntEARS, First 5 LA Chief Operating Officer John Wagner, (third from left) and actor Esai Morales(fourth from left) at the Little Green Fingers West Athens Victory Garden.

12 Volunteer Workday: Caption: More than 25 Disney VoluntEARS helped plant trees, build garden beds, improve landscaping, paint children s mural to prepare the Little Green Fingers West Athens Victory Garden. Over several weekends, more than 100 volunteers helped the LA Corps transform a one acre vacant lot into a vibrant community garden.

13 Volunteer Workday: Caption: Disney VoluntEARS help young children plant their first seeds in the new garden bed at the Little Green Fingers West Athens Victory Garden.