50 million Americans are food insecure. Even though the United States is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, a staggering number of people do not have enough to eat and do not have access to nourishing food. Single-parent families make up a large number of the people who experience food insecurity.
None of us can change the world and none of us can end hunger alone, but we can improve the lives of a few people in our community and create a positive ripple from there. With this simple belief, we started Gardens for Single Moms.
Gardens for Single Moms began in 2018 with five families in Orlando, Florida and transitioned to Gardens for the People in 2019.
The mission of Gardens for Single Moms is very simple: to help single moms grow their own organic, healthy food for their families. Single parents are often short on time and resources to build and maintain their own gardens, so part of our mission was to help them get started and teach them how to sustainably grow food. We turned a portion of their unused lawn into an abundant garden with healthy veggies, healing herbs, bountiful fruit trees and fragrant flowers.
Through the help of volunteers in the community, we installed the gardens and then maintained them for the first season until they were established and easier to take care of. Community volunteer days allowed us to put the hard work into establishing each garden. During the first season, we spent time in the garden with the families to teach them how to grow and harvest their own food.
The gardens don’t just produce food though. They serve as a calming sanctuary for the family and as habitat for beneficial insects like bees and butterflies and native critters. They produce empowerment, helping families to take their health back from the industrial, globalized food system and put the power into their own hands, right in their own front yards. They empower moms to provide organic, healthful food to their kids, creating a foundation for their future. They produce a connection to our food and to the Earth that gives us life.
Through Gardens for Single Moms we aim to play a small role in the movement of food sovereignty.
Meet some of the moms!
This is Theresa. She works with children and enjoys teaching them about our natural world through experiments and hands-on learning.
“When I was gifted a garden from this program, I had just lost my husband. My daughter Lanore and I now have a garden where we enjoy trying new foods like cranberry hibiscus and African blue basil. I have even been able to share with co-workers and neighbors. We are also lucky enough to have a front yard orchard through Community Fruit Trees and we can’t wait until they start producing! It has been a great journey so far.”
This is Randi. She has two sons and her garden was planted in the grassy strip between her and her neighbor’s driveway.
“Watering my garden in the mornings brings me peace, and sharing the healthy foods growing in my garden with family and friends brings me great joy. I am honored to tend to this garden.”
This is Jen. She works as a nurse while taking care of her daughter and son. She is seen here in front of her abundant passion fruit vine!
“This garden has been a transformative experience. Through it we have become more active participants in our community. We have learned that we can have access to healthy, healing foods right in our front yard without spending a lot of money. And as a mother, it brings me such joy to see my daughter pointing out budding fruit on her favorite trees and chasing butterflies in the yard. It’s incredible!”
In 2019 we expanded Gardens for Single Moms into Gardens for the People.
Gardens for Single Moms was made possible through the support of the Live Like Foundation.