Promise of Peace Community Gardens

The Promise of Peace, (P.O.P.), Gardens was established in 2009 as an effort to bring diverse groups of people together on common ground while connecting to nature and learning to grow REAL food and then to celebrate the food as we shared the harvest. The mission of P.O.P. is to create equal access to nutritious food for all children and their families. We transform vacant places into thriving growing spaces where our programming changes lives one seed at a time.

After serving in public education for over forty years, I became increasingly discouraged as I observed children becoming lost, over fed and under nourished, and disconnected in our communities. I decided that it was time for a change, so I founded the P.O.P. Gardens to provide simple solutions for these stagnant circumstances. It was then I discovered the body of work by Alice Waters that has been such an inspiration and resource to me as we have built 6 garden sites and delivered the seed to table cycle to thousands of children and families from all backgrounds. 

We now serve an average of 300 kids a week who are on free and reduced lunch. They come from an array of backgrounds and cultures. Most of our children are living in poverty and almost half have experienced hunger. They know very little about food, where it comes from, or having social events around that food. Some are recent immigrants to the US and some are from families of generational poverty who are looking for a better tomorrow. We also serve underserved families at two food pantries. We now have four farm sites. We are launching our new program, "Seed to Soul," at Bayles Elementary where we will deliver cooking classes to families and provide gardening experiences with them.

Our values include quality over quantity, lesson delivery that is of the highest interest and relevance, and a focus on gratitude and abundance prevail in each lesson.  We maintain meaningful relationships with our participants, and the demonstration of authenticity and integrity are visible in our actions. Promise of Peace weaves together tailored curriculum to fit the needs of our clients. This is why I'd like to attend the Academy so P.O.P. can stretch our existing knowledge and integrate new teachings and opportunities into what we are already doing. We are striving for the best that we can deliver.