This project will fund seed access and education programs to establish home and community resiliency gardens in Poland and Ukraine. By working with local schools and communities, we will support vegetable production and community building for Ukrainians and the communities that support them.
Ukrainian refugees and Internally Displaced People, mostly women and children, are struggling due to unprecedented hostilities. Over 2 million Ukrainians have entered Poland and over 6 million Ukrainians are internally displaced, seeking refuge during a time of extreme duress. These hostilities and migration are stressing food supplies and creating shortages all over Ukraine and Poland. Most emergency, disaster relief is focused on meeting immediate needs: shelter, medicine, and dry food goods.
SPI is supporting home, school, and community vegetable gardens to boost food supply for Ukrainians and the families and communities that graciously support them. Planting community gardens not only addresses food supply issues but alleviates distress, promotes resiliency, and increases place connection in a time of crisis. Research shows that gardening can reduce depression and build community.
Refugees and Internally Displaced People need to establish a sense of place in their new communities. Vegetable-growing programs are unlikely to be the first response in a crisis, yet are an enduring, stabilizing element. Economists and disaster victims alike know that post-crisis food markets can feature wild shortages and surpluses, price spikes and crashes, and food-quality concerns. By fostering vegetable production, our relief efforts can help provide long term resilience.
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