Support Sought for The Big Garden
July 01, 2008
Editor’s Note: This is the eighth in a continuing series of entries from the first Omaha Catalogue of Urban Design Philanthropy, a compendium of strategic giving opportunities that focus on the city’s natural and built environments. The Omaha Catalogue was published in December 2007 by Omaha by Design and the Omaha Community Foundation. It has attracted donations from Omaha’s philanthropic community at both the foundation and individual level, including a $10,000 gift to The Big Garden. The Sierra Club recently recognized The Big Garden as one of 50 exceptional faith-based environmental initiatives in the 50 states. For more information on how to donate to a project, contact Connie Spellman, director of Omaha by Design, or Sara Boyd, vice president of the Omaha Community Foundation, at 402.342.3458.
Imagine confusing pasta with corn on the cob or mistaking a tomato for an apple because of its color. In Omaha, organizers of a community gardening effort see it happen on more than a passing occasion.
Eradicating the nutrition knowledge gap is one of the goals of The Big Garden, founded by an Omaha pastor as a community outreach activity in 2006. Initial funding was provided by a U.S. Department of Agriculture community garden grant and the United Methodist Church.
The project seeks to provide nutritious food for residents of east Omaha, build better neighborhoods, provide nutrition and preventive health education, foster lifelong learning, create opportunities for volunteerism and promote intergenerational activities based around community gardens. During its first year, five garden sites hosted 43,000 volunteer visits. Of the 3,000 pounds of food raised, 1,000 pounds was donated to local food pantries. In 2007, the project managed 15 garden sites throughout east Omaha and Bellevue. The goal is to develop 10 new sites in 2008.
In addition to launching new sites, the project plans to ramp up its focus on nutrition and preventive health education. Research has shown that children who garden eat more than twice the amount of vegetables than their non-gardening counterparts.
A variety of donor opportunities are available.