Community Gardening Leadership Training Program

Yes!! We've made it to the $1,000 mark! Thank you all for generosity! It is all the small contributions that is going to make this happen!

We are pleased to announce that for the second year in a row Hand in Hand Partners will be contributing a $10,000 matching grant to the program! Every donation will go towards helping us match this grant and to supporting us in our 6th growing season!
By supporting this program you are helping to:

• empower the next generation of food leaders, community gardeners, and teachers;
• create more access to healthy food in our community's food bank and school system; and
• cultivate a healthier environment by supporting sustainable growing practices and education.
  

CGLT is a program of the Whidbey Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)3 and all donations are tax deductible.
There is a significant and ever growing disconnect between food growers and consumers in this country; one in which more and more people are left believing carrots come from the grocery store rather than the earth. But there is a rising need among young people today to reconnect with agriculture and to understand for themselves where their food comes from. They recognize how broken our food system is and they're seeking to change it! 
The Community Gardening Leadership Training is a program designed to help build this knowledge base in the next generation and inspire the food leaders of tomorrow. Apprentices are able to immerse themselves in the process of growing food from seed to harvest and they learn what it takes to build a strong and equitable community food system. In this way, our program is helping to fuel a strong societal movement that is centered around a simple but profound belief ‘knowing how to grow good food is vital for our health, our communities and our environment.’

In this dynamic program we encourage apprentices to explore their personal interests in agriculture and community food systems. We celebrate the diversity of perspectives apprentices have and help them cultivate the specific skills they wish to hold. In this way, we are helping apprentices become independent and empowered leaders in their own right so they might move on to be teachers, farmers, community gardeners and food leaders in their own communities.

The Good Cheer Food Bank, the Whidbey Institute, and the South Whidbey School District Farm and Garden Program partner to offer this training in community gardening and leadership skills. These organizations along with other non-profits, dedicated volunteers, and a growing population of young farmers are collaboratively shaping our community-driven food system that addresses issues of health, education and food access on our rural island.
The Community Gardening Leadership Training is at the heart of this network helping to make our food system more resilient, sustainable and community centered. We’re helping to bring healthy food into our public school cafeterias and food bank and ensuring that everyone has equal access to nutritious locally grown produce. Through open work parties and garden based classes we’re also teaching people how to grow their own food and encouraging them to share the bounty. And through it all we’re here to celebrate in the joy of growing food together as a community for the community!