Powering Community Gardens Across the US

“I’m happy today because of garden group.”
“This garden calms me down way more than school.”
“Can I take this Lamb’s Ear back with me? I want to use it like a fidget?”
“This is so cute. I didn’t know how much I loved gardening.”
“I was mad earlier, but this helped.”

These are just a few of the reflections shared by youth participating in the Fostering Hope gardening program. Fostering Hope is a nonprofit initiative that brings creative, trauma-informed programming to young people in residential treatment facilities and the foster care system. Seed Programs International was happy to partner with them this year to donate seeds and support to their gardening program.

This year, the weekly garden program supported 74 youth, ages 8 to 17, living at a 24-hour residential facility in Ohio.

The program focused on sensory exploration, therapeutic connection with nature, and creative, hands-on learning. Instructors emphasized that there is no single “right way” to garden, encouraging youth to experiment, explore, and discover personal meaning in the process. Sessions also incorporated themes of community, interconnectedness, and shared ownership.

Throughout the summer, participants planted, tended, and harvested their garden spaces—strengthening social-emotional skills, developing confidence, and building a genuine sense of belonging along the way. The youth also prepared for a youth-let Farmers Market Event, developing skills in leadership, marketing, selling produce, and earning funds to support a nonprofit of their choice.

This partnership continues to demonstrate how gardening can provide stability, joy, and healing for youth navigating challenging circumstances. Through consistent weekly sessions, the garden becomes a predictable, calming space where young people can step away from stress, express themselves freely, and experience the pride of nurturing something from seed to harvest. For many participants, these moments of connection—with nature, with peers, and with caring adults—serve as powerful building blocks for resilience and emotional well-being.

Giving Tuesday is December 2 and GlobalGiving is giving $500 million to boost donations to nonprofits worldwide.This is a great opportunity to make your donations go further to support programs like this. Thank you so much for your support!

Dear Friends,

Thanks to you, our impact is multiplying faster than ever. This year, we are expanding our domestic efforts in a big way to help ease the growing burden on American households. New challenges are affecting families in the US due to funding cuts that are threatening food access for millions. In 2025, the USDA ended two major programs that provided $1 billion for schools and food banks to buy fresh, local produce. Additionally, recently passed budgetary reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are expected to impact over 600,000 families, including 500,000 children.

In 2024, we partnered with 28 organizations and distributed over 175,000 seed packets. This year, the momentum has only grown stronger. In just the first half of 2025, we’ve already distributed more than one million seed packets to 36 partners—23 of them brand new. Many of these partners, in turn, scale the impact even further. The Society of St. Andrew, for example, has already shared our seeds with 113 agencies and organizations across 18 states.

This rapid growth reflects both a rising movement in community gardening and the urgent need for local food production as federal food assistance shrinks. Together with you and partners across the country, we’re growing solutions from the ground up.

One of those solutions is taking root in Winder, Georgia, where Wimberly’s Roots is making healthy food and knowledge accessible in a USDA-designated food desert. Across the United States, more than 13.5 million people live in areas with limited access to fresh, affordable food—commonly known as food deserts. These communities often face high poverty rates and limited proximity to supermarkets, making it difficult to access fresh, nutritious produce.

Wimberly’s Roots is a grassroots nonprofit that runs a community farm that not only grows fresh produce but also teaches families how to plant, care for, harvest, and prepare their own food. Their programs combine gardening education with healthy cooking workshops, creating a full-circle approach to food access and nutrition.

What makes their work so powerful is the way the community comes together. Leo, one of their volunteers, is a retired local resident with a long family history in farming and gardening. He now volunteers at the farm, passing along his knowledge and shared interest to support his community. 

Thanks to the seeds we provided in 2024, Wimberly’s Roots increased their harvests by an incredible 230% and boosted volunteer hours by 160%. We’re proud to continue supporting them this year as they keep building skills, confidence, and connection through food.

Your generosity makes stories like this possible. You are helping seeds turn into meals, gardens, and stronger communities. Thank you for being part of this growing movement—we can’t wait to share what blooms next.