Nature’s Path, North America’s largest certified breakfast and snack food company, is awarding 15 community gardens $7,500 each through its annual Gardens for Good program. Gardens for Good celebrates the meaningful work organic community gardens do across North America.
“Community gardens play a vital role in increasing access to organic food for everyone,” says Jyoti Stephens, VP Mission & Strategy at Nature’s Path. “Not only do community gardens bring people together to connect in nature, they can also increase food security by providing access to fresh and nutritious organic food, where they otherwise may not be easily available.”
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food-at-home prices increased by more than 11 percent over the past year. In Canada, food costs have risen almost nine percent from March 2022 to March 2023. Because of this, finding ways to increase access to fresh, organic food is more important now than ever. According to numerous peer reviewed studies, organic produce contains more vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and micronutrients compared to non-organic food.
Nature’s Path has been a trailblazer in the organic movement and believes organic food and farming is the best way to care for our bodies and for the planet. Nature’s Path’s Gardens for Good program supports community gardens that grow organic produce and make it accessible for those in need in their communities. Since launching the program in 2010, Nature’s Path has donated more than $615,000 to 74 gardens across North America.
“Receiving our grant from Nature’s Path in 2017 was incredibly valuable for us and contributed to an important time of growth,” says Alexa Pitoulis, Executive Director of Fresh Roots, a non-profit organization working with school communities in Vancouver, Canada. “The funds enabled us to launch additional school yard farming programs, and distribute more delicious, organic food into schools and local communities.”
Ten gardens in the U.S. and five gardens in Canada will be awarded grants. Eligible gardens can submit their applications through the following links until June 4th:
- US Applications: https://gardensforgood.naturespath.com/en-us/
- Canadian Applications: https://gardensforgood.naturespath.com/en-ca/
Applicants can rally their communities to vote for their applications during the voting period June 12th-25th. Winners will be announced July 6th.
To learn more about the Gardens for Good program, please visit https://naturespath.com/ca/pages/gardens-for-good/.
