20,000 Veggie Gardens Coming to Santa Clara County

Contributed by Valley Verde.

On Thursday, May 16, Silicon Valley leaders launched the Plant, Eat, Share Campaign—an initiative to ensure that 20,000 vegetable gardens are planted in Santa Clara County within the next ten years. 

The initiative is being spearheaded by Valley Verde, a nonprofit whose mission is to increase access to healthy fresh vegetables for low-income families through home gardening.

“Dating back to our time with Sacred Heart Community Service’s La Mesa Verde program, we have empowered Santa Clara County families and installed over 280 home gardens,” said Raul Lozano, Executive Director of Valley Verde.

Approximately 22,000 children in Santa Clara County do not have access to healthy food, and vegetables in particular. This lack of access is cited as a contributor to costly and dangerous diet-related diseases for children and parents. 

“One of the greatest health challenges for California families is the inability to put healthy food on the table,” said Frederick J. Ferrer, Chief Executive Officer of HealthTrust. “We are constantly confronted with the reality that many low-income families in particular don’t have nearby access to fresh produce. With a healthy garden, fruits and vegetables are only a few steps away from the dinner table.” 

The online home to register, participate, and share the bounty of the Plant, Eat, Share Campaign is on the Valley Verde website (http://bit.ly/vvpes). On the site, individuals and companies can receive gardening and nutrition tips and information. They can also sign up to be part of the campaign. Organizations that have already committed to participate are the American Diabetes Association, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Cities Association of Santa Clara County, Collective Roots, HealthTrust, Somos Mayfair and Transition Palo Alto. 

Additionally, Valley Verde asks cities to pass resolutions that emphasize their commitment to encourage residents to be healthy through home gardening. 

In conjunction with the campaign, Valley Verde is launching efforts that are instrumental to ensuring that Santa Clara County can increase the number of home gardens to 20,000 in ten years. They are: 

• Helping families in need:  By 2023, Valley Verde will help plant 5,000 free gardens for families in need throughout the Silicon Valley.

• Strengthening community and business collaboration: Valley Verde is partnering and collaborating with companies so they can help employees lead healthy lives. The organization will provide organizations with materials to share with employees regarding healthy eating and gardening for free. It will also offer to provide services, like garden installation, to interested employees of partner companies and organizations. 

To learn more about Valley Verde and the Plant, Eat, Share Campaign, visit: www.valleyverde.org 

To read about some of the families who are already benefiting from the work of Valley Verde, visit: http://bit.ly/vvstories