Live Like Ally Foundation and Robin Greenfield Partnership
Robin Greenfield and Live Like Ally Foundation together are in service to Earth, humanity and the plants and animals we share this home with. Our partnership began in 2018 and over five years of collaboration we have been of service to many people and communities across the United States. Together, we started and expanded Free Seed Project, Community Fruit Trees, Gardens for the People, Community Compost and Free Seed Library. We’d like to introduce you to our work and invite you to bring these initiatives to your community!
Free Seed Project
Since 2018, we have provided seed packs to 40,000 people who have low access to healthy food.
For the average person to purchase these seed packs of high quality, non-GMO seeds they would likely spend over $80. We provide these packs to our recipients absolutely free, mailing the pack directly to their door. Our seed packs contain enough seeds to densely plant two 4’x8′ raised beds and can produce over $400 worth of healing greens, hearty veggies and tasty herbs plus a variety of pollinator friendly flowers.
Since 2018, we have spent about $80,000 to provide these packs to 40,000 people. If each of the recipients were to purchase these seeds individually, they would have spent over 3 million dollars collectively! That’s how we’ve turned $80,000 into over 3 million dollars of seed value for our community! With the modest estimate that each pack can produce $400 worth of food, if everyone grew the seeds we provided, that’s over 16 million dollars of food potential in these packs!
This is the Power of the Seed!
We also provide:
• Resources and instructions on how to garden and grow food
• Resources for seed saving, to help participants to turn this pack into more seeds and food year after year by growing and saving seeds
• Access to an online community with other Free Seed Project growers through the Free Seed Project Facebook Group
The mission of the Free Seed Project is to increase access to organic gardening and healthy food for as many people as possible. We prioritize providing seeds to people who have low access to healthy food or would not otherwise be able to afford quality seeds, grow food to share with others who have low access to healthy food, are first-time gardeners, or are using the seeds in an educational setting.
We have sent 40,000 free seed packs to people in all 50 US states!
Community Fruit Trees
A Community Fruit Tree is a publicly owned fruit tree that is accessible for anyone to pick from. We plant Community Fruit Trees in many different locations where the public can access them including residential front yards and businesses with access from a public sidewalk, in the medians between streets and sidewalk, at schools, in public parks, in churchyards and along bike trails.
Although the idea of Community Fruit Trees is quite simple, it is a world away from the industrial, globalized food system where most of us buy our food today. The mission of Community Fruit Trees is to create access to delicious, nutritious fruit right in our communities. Through planting trees we strive to reduce food insecurity, improve our natural environment, create a deeper connection to our food, build community and exercise our independence from the globalized, industrial food system.
We have planted nearly 2,000 Community Fruit Trees!
Gardens for the People
Gardens for the People! That’s our motto and that’s what we do. We create gardens for people who dream of having a garden to tend to and harvest fresh food and medicine from. Growing food and tending to a garden is a simple act, but for many it is a central practice to their health and wellness. A garden can be a place to connect with Earth and connect with the plants and animals we share our home with. A garden can be a place where we find the time and space to tend to the garden inside of ourselves. A garden can be a tool in creating dignity and respect within ourselves and our community. And of course, a garden can transform our lives by producing delicious and nutritious food right in our own yards. This is especially important for those that don’t have access to life-giving foods like fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Through Gardens for the People we select people who will really benefit from having a garden at their home and then we build them a garden. We create the garden with the recipient and plant the food. We teach the garden recipient the basics of how to care for their garden so the garden can become a longterm part of their life. We also supply them with the seeds they’ll need for at least a year of gardening ahead.
Gardens for the people started as Gardens for Single Moms.
We have built 40 Gardens for the People!
Community Compost
The mission of the Community Compost Program is to build community, keep plant life out of the landfill, and regenerate our soil and ecosystems by creating local composting programs.
Community Compost programs collect food scraps and compostable items from the community and compost in a range of locations including backyards, community gardens, and local farms. These wasted materials that are collected are turned into nutritious compost to grow food with right in the community! At the same time Community Compost Programs engage the community and educate on how to compost.
We have created a Complete Guide on Starting and Running a Community Compost Program to help this initiative spread far and wide.
Free Seed Library
A Free Seed Library can serve as a hub in the community for people to freely get the seeds they need to grow their own food, share the food they grow with their community and be a part of the shift towards a more sustainable, equitable and just society. Free Seed Libraries are placed in publicly accessible places including residential front yards, along the sidewalk, libraries, community centers, schools and business fronts.
We have established 11 Free Seed Libraries and provided the resources to help others establish a Free Seed Library in their community.
We are grateful for over 5 years of service together!
For a five year recap and photos of our service together see: Celebrating 5 Years of Service with Live Like Ally Foundation
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Since 2015 Live Like Ally Foundation has honored Ally’s memory by sponsoring people and organizations aligned with her beautiful world vision. They hope to inspire others to live a life of intention and meaning, to think higher, to feel deeper, to love the earth…to continue on the path that Ally was clearly walking.
Ally’s gravestone states ‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments, it is what is woven into the lives of others.’ Nothing could sum up the legacy of this extraordinary young woman. Learn more.
What Does it Mean to Live Like Ally?
Live Like Ally is a mindful way of being in the world based on the principles Ally clearly and beautifully embodied: embracing life courageously, whole-heartedly, and without regrets; being committed to making this world a better place for all living things, having an active reverence for the Earth, and a willingness to move out of one’s comfort zone and push past personal limitations. Learn more here.
Meet Ally Willen