"A garden for every child, every child in a garden."
6.5 million American
children live in a food
desert (USDA)
Urban Gardens for
Children and Families
Experiencing Homelessness



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

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)
 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
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






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


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
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
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

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
 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
 Seeds
 Compost
 Top
Soil
 Potting Mix
 Wooden Plant Labels
 Lumber
 Bracket
 Workshop Fee
$470
 Mulch
 Gravel
 Garden
Fork
 Compost
 Garden Claw
 Sign Wood
 Workshop Fee
 Compost
bins
$200
$155
 Fall
Crops
 Cover Crops
 Garden Art Supplies
 Raspberries
 Pizza Ingredients
 Workshop Fee
$280
 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

An estimated 50
children and 30
moms participated
in the program
 Homeless
provider
staff, moms, and
children were
surveyed after the
last gardening
workshop
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
Goal: Encourage family bonding
Goal: Decrease stress and anxiety
Family Bonding
Improvement
30%
70%
Same
Worse
Decreased
Anxiety/Stress
Improvement
18%
Same
82%
Worse
Goal: Encourage physical activity outdoors
Interest in Nature
18%
Physical Activity
Improvement
Improvement
43%
82%
Same
Worse
57%
Same
Worse
Goal: Increase interest in healthy eating
and meal preparation
Trying New Foods
Eating More Vegetables
Improvement
33%
Improvement
40%
67%
Same
Worse
60%
Same
Worse
Goal: Increase interest in healthy eating
and meal preparation (cont.)
Interest in Preparing
Meals
Availability of Fresh
Food
13%
87%
Improvement
Improvement
Same
Same
Worse
100%
Worse
 Goal: Equip
participants with practical
gardening skills
Gardening Skills
Positive
25%
75%
Neutral
Negative
Plans to Have Garden of
Own
Positive
33%
Neutral
67%
Negative

“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
 “Getting
them to water!” - Staff
 “Keeping
the garden protected from
destruction when the parents are not
supervising children.” – Staff
 “Worms; dirt.”  “Waiting
 “When
Parent
for it to grow to eat it, lol.” – Parent
plants get hurt.” - Child
 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

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?
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
References and More Information

United States School Gardens
http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/content.php?pid=46894&sid=345414

USDA Food Desert Study
http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/FAQ.aspx

Physical and Mental Effects of Homelessness
http://www.familyhomelessness.org/children.php?p=ts

Project Homeless Connect
www.projecthomelessconnect.com/

Green Millennium Children’s Garden
http://old.post-gazette.com/garden/20020706backyard3.asp

Homeless Garden Project
http://www.homelessgardenproject.org/

"Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard" Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVrnqZsghHk

“Grow Pittsburgh Organization” Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to3sptah2Bo