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

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. About the Homeless Children’s Education Fund (HCEF) • 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. HCEF Services 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. Youth Homelessness in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania • 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. 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 • 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. Project Goals 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. Urban Gardening Benchmarks 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

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

14. Partners Grow PittsburghTo demonstrate, teach and promote responsible urban food production“Grow Pittsburgh Organization” VideoPlant to Plate, University of PittsburghTeach 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

15. Project Implementation 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. Supplies and Budget $300 Raised beds were built using previous “Mini-Grant” funding from HCEF Grow Light Pot Makers Seeds Potting Mix Watering Can Seedling Tray Workshop Fee

18. May: Transplanting

19. Supplies and Budget(Several Visits) $470 Seeds Compost Top Soil Potting Mix Wooden Plant Labels Lumber Bracket Workshop Fee

20. June: Composting

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

22. July/August: Harvest Celebration

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

24. Additional Activities • 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. Project Evaluation 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. Recap: Issues and Goals 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 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

27. Outcomes: Mental Health Goal: Encourage family bonding Goal: Decrease stress and anxiety

28. Outcomes: Mental Health and Health Goal: Encourage physical activity outdoors

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

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

31. Outcomes: Nutrition and Health Goal: Equip participants with practical gardening skills

32. Outcomes: Highlights “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. Outcomes: Challenges “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. Lessons Learned / Next Steps • 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. Can I replicate this project at my organization? • 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. Questions? Carrie Pavlik, Education Services Manager, HCEFcpavlik@homelessfund.org, 412-562-0154 x200Bill Wolfe, Executive Director, HCEFwwolfe@homelessfund.org, 412-562-0154 x203

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