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Our Impact
GROW continues to facilitate a Micro-Grant program with the goal of providing financial assistance with projects focused on building infrastructure or enhancing the community. Since its conception last year, this program has helped 18 gardens. In 2022, GROW launched a Tool Grant program that provided $1,500 worth of tools to community gardens in need.
GROW is the fiscal sponsor to over half (50+) of Seattle's P-Patch gardens. In 2021, we administered $150,000 worth of grants to five gardens with active projects; Picardo Farm, Barton Street P-Patch, UpGarden, Magneson Park, and Hawkins P-Patch.
GROW continues to give the max of $15,000 to Seattle’s P-Patch Low Income Garden Assistance Program. In 2021, this helped 784 low-income families pay for their plots, which is 43 more families than in 2020.
GROW pays the property taxes on 7 gardens that we own to keep them in open space in perpetuity. Property taxes are estimated at $14,000 for 2021 and are likely to increase 20% in 2022.
GROW facilitates, manages, and publishes a bi-annually P-Patch Post writing stories from gardens and seasonal gardening tips to foster and connect the gardening community.
BUILD
We plant, nurture and protect organic community gardens and orchards, urban farms and green spaces leading to a healthy and diverse community neighbourhood.
Advocacy
GROW works with the City of Seattle, King County and other government and private entities to protect existing gardens and to find sites and mechanisms for creating additional ones. We also coach neighborhood groups through the process of starting a community garden, orchard or open space.
Stewardship
GROW is a land conservancy that can own property, which ensures community gardens can be maintained in perpetuity. We presently own or co-own seven of Seattle’s P-Patches. (The others are on public property, which risk being re-purposed for other uses as urban density increases.) GROW works on an ongoing basis to identify and facilitate the development of additional sites for community gardens, and always pursues possibilities for acquiring more properties.
FUND
We plant, nurture and protect organic community gardens and orchards, urban farms and green spaces leading to a healthy and diverse community neighbourhood.
Support for low-income gardeners
As part of our commitment to help enable everyone to garden and grow food as needed, GROW pays the plot fees for low-income gardeners in the Seattle P-Patch network who request assistance.
Tools and seeds
GROW purchases tools for shared use at gardens that need them, and also distributes seeds for gardeners’ use.
Financial assistance
We make small grants for the development of community gardens, and for assistance to organizations that increase the availability of healthy food for low-income people.
Liability insurance
GROW provides liability insurance for all Seattle P-Patches and some other community gardens and orchards, ensuring that gardeners have coverage in case of accident or injury.
Fiscal sponsorship services
We serve as the required fiscal sponsor for community gardens, orchards and parks, providing them a legal mechanism for raising and managing their funds as a non-profit entity. This arrangement enables individual sites to raise money for improvement projects.
EDUCATE
We train and educate members to become site leaders, who as a team, meet the needs of gardeners and landowners. P-Patch Post gives seasonal gardening tips and a whole lot more!
Leadership development
Community gardens function best when they have a team of site leaders who can work together to meet the needs of gardeners and landowners. We provide free training and consultation to help develop effective leadership teams.
The P-Patch Post
Twice a year, GROW issues a tabloid publication called the P-Patch Post, which provides seasonal gardening information, stories about inspirational gardeners and interesting community gardens, recipes, and much more. Past and present issues of the Post are available on this website.
HARVEST
Apart from growing organic produce for themselves and their families, we encourage gardeners to ‘grow a row for the hungry’ providing for local food banks and hot meal programs.
Food for the needy
GROW encourages gardeners at P-Patches and other sites to “grow a row for the hungry,” and supports systems for having produce from community gardens delivered to local food banks and programs providing meals to hungry people.
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