This year we’re growing our Community Garden at the Family Shelter.

Thanks to Yisrael Family Farms, we’ve been able to start an important project that we’ve been excited about for the past two years! The Community Garden isn’t just helping us feed our guests at the shelter – it’s also giving them hands on experience and beneficial life skills needed to lead healthier lives.

With only 5 planter beds, our Community Garden has already produced a variety of herbs and vegetables such as lettuce, swiss chard, arugula, basil, tomatoes, corn, squash, watermelon, eggplant, mustard greens, kale, sage, and more for our shelter guests to enjoy. Thanks to volunteers from Intel, this month we were able to add 6 more planter beds which will help us grow even more vegetables like potatoes and onions.

Having a garden at the shelter gives our guests a special and meaningful way to connect with the outside world. It is an educational space which hosts workshops and activities that extend beyond the garden and foods that are grown. In April, for example, Yisrael Family Farms hosted a soap-making class with dried herbs for families at our shelter! These types of activities teach creative thinking skills geared towards self-sufficiency that are important for parents, children, and individuals to know.

We are excited to give our guests at the Family Shelter important life skills around gardening and nature they can take with them into the world. It’s even more exciting that we’re able to do this with the help of our community.

See the community work in action and learn more about how our guests are impacted by the Community Garden. Consider giving to support this project today! Every donation counts and changes the life of a person experiencing homelessness in Sacramento.