By Kristina Welch | Executive Director
Hello Jovial Garden Supporters,
We haveharvested OVER ONE TON of produce and we're not even pulling out many tomatoe or winter squash yet!! This year is certainly our biggest harvest, ever. Why does it matter? In the words of Lisa Smith (name changed for privacy), it matters a lot. As a Jovial Garden host in Edgewater for over 2 years, Lisa enjoyed having fresh produce at her finger tips and canning or freezing it for the winter. They weren't well off, but they didn't worry about feeding their 16 year old daughter or 13 year old son.
In Feburary, they sold their Edgewater home and moved to New Mexico. The 6 months after they moved brought Lisa to a solid realization, without a program like Jovial Gardens that offered clean, accessible food, her family's health was decling. Her husband who already suffered from immune system issues was the most sensitive to processed foods. With limited transportation, money, and grocery stores, she looked for every possible solution.
In June she reached out to discuss a satelitte Jovial Garden neighborhood in her community in Sante Fe. Her words were this, "My family participated in the Jovial Gardens Edgewater program for two seasons, and we were so happy that we were able to! Now that we are here, we are having a tough time affording the organic produce. I am so inspired by what Jovial Gardens is doing in that area. There is a small plot in the apartment building for a community garden, and other families like ours that would benefit from having affordable organic food. I really appreciate what you did for our family, and we would love to learn more about how we can help out!"
We hope to help Lisa's family build a garden Spring 2016 and have our first out of state gardens!.
Your donations and support are what have allowed us to help families like Lisa's and to continue to expand our services into new areas. We have over 50 gardens and continue to grow each year. Now is the time to reach out and join a Jovial Garden neighborhood or make a donation to help us continue to offer much needed services to Colorado families.
Sept. 21st is a 30% matching day on Global Giving, we ask that everyone renew their support by making a donation AFTER 10am mountain time, but as close to 10am as possible, to ensure your donation is matched. Thank you again for your ongoing support and making stories like Lisa's possible.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
