By Suzanne Allcroft | Food & Farm Advocacy Intern
When you gave a donation to the “Growing Healthy Families” Program on GlobalGiving.org, you invested in a thriving partnership between Hidden Villa and the Community Services Agency of Mountain View’s Food and Nutrition Center (CSA). Please know how grateful we are for your thoughtful and generous support of this project.
As the winter months bring our growing season to a close, we are delighted to report on a very successful 2012 farm season that contributed fresh produce to 4,800 of our low-income neighbors.
Over the past year, Hidden Villa provided over 12,500 lbs. of vegetables to our neighbors at the CSA of Mountain View. 50% of these clients were children or seniors in need. Hidden Villa is the only partner organization that has committed a percentage of its yield to the food bank at the CSA of Mountain View.
Thanks to the expertise and “sweat equity” of Hidden Villa’s agricultural team there have been notable improvements to the arable land that have nearly tripled the production capacity over the past 5 years through sustainable soil management techniques, cover cropping, compost and mineral amendment additions, crop rotations, and weed management. These improvements have increased crop yields and enhanced our capacity to continue increasing our contribution of organic produce to the CSA of Mountain View.
Though we live in one of the wealthiest parts of the country, our population is not insulated from poverty, homelessness or challenges of aging. As Silicon Valley companies may do well financially, the nonprofit sector and local government are stretched to their limits. While many citizens of the Bay Area enjoy a high quality of life, others may find fierce competition for work, housing expensive and diminishing public services due to balancing the budget. As a result, access to fresh vegetables and fruits may grow out of reach for many people, especially low-income families with children and seniors to care for. With your help, fresh fruit and vegetables are not luxury items. They are accessible to all.
Once again, thank you so much for your generous donation to the “Growing Healthy Families” Program, and for helping us provide our neighbors with this valuable service.
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