The Seeds of Change™ Grant Program Awards $310,000 To School, Community Gardening And Farming Programs Across The U.S.

RANCHO DOMINGUEZ, Calif., May 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Seeds of Change™, a leading producer of sustainably grown organic seeds and nutritious organic foods, today announced the 24 grant recipients in the 2017 Seeds of Change™ Grant Program. The winners include 12 community garden and 12 school garden programs across the country. Seeds of Change™ is distributing $310,000 in grants this year, funded by one percent of its net annual sales.  

Seeds of Change™ is committed to helping create healthier, greener communities, and through the donation of one percent of our net sales to school, community gardening and farming programs nationwide, we hope to connect communities to the food they eat as well as advance sustainable and organic growing practices," said Andrew Cops, Vice President of Marketing, Seeds of Change™.

Two schools—Henry H. North Elementary School Garden in Lansing, MI and Southridge Outdoor Learning Facility in Lewisville, TX—and two community garden programs—Rosalinda Sauro Sirianni Memorial Garden in Bellevue, PA and FUA Edible Education and Environment Classroom in Groveland, FL—will receive total of $110,000 in grants. Ten school and ten community garden programs will receive a total of $200,000 in grants. All winners are listed below.

Grand Prize Winners:

School Programs - $25,000 each

• Henry H. North Elementary School Garden, Lansing, MI
• Southridge Outdoor Learning Facility, Lewisville, TX

Community Programs - $30,000 each

• Rosalinda Sauro Sirianni Memorial Garden in Bellevue, PA
• FUA Edible Education and Environment Classroom in Groveland, FL

Additional Winners:

School Programs - $10,000 each

• Putnam County School Gardens, Eleanor, WV
• Garden of the UL KNIGHTS!!, Thomaston, GA
• Technology Student Association Food Computers, Arnold, MO
• South Jackson Elementary Scienhancement Farm, Athens, GA
• Loring Community School Garden and Kids Cook Program, Minneapolis, MN
• Top of the World Elementary School - Living Lab & Giving Garden, Laguna Beach, CA
• Trafalgar Middle School Garden, Cape Coral, FL
• Tiger Towers, Festus, MO
• Orchard Elementary Outdoor Learning Center, Rio Linda, CA
• Spade Brigade Resiliency Garden, La Mirada, CA

Community Organizations - $10,000 each

• Coastal Roots Farm, Encinitas, CA
• The Cole Preston Foundation Lake Worth Community Garden, Lake Worth, FL
• Impact Garden, Temple, TX
• Pitney Meadows Children's Greenhouse & Gardens in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Springs, NY
• East Snyder Community Garden, Selinsgrove, PA
• Buckets of Rain's Detroit/Highland Park Gardens, Highland Park, MI
• Katie's Krops Flagship Garden: Pinewood Preparatory School, Summerville, SC
• Common Vision School Orchard Project, Oakland, CA
• The Children's Garden, Lima, OH
• The Urban Farm, Columbia, MO

The 24 organizations were selected from nearly 600 applicants nationwide and funding was split to support both community and school gardens. More than 400,000 votes were cast by the public to determine the top 50 finalists before a panel of judges evaluated those applications and selected the final award recipients. 

Funding for the Seeds of Change™ Grant Program comes from the one percent Fund, the brand's commitment to donate one percent of net sales to community-based nutrition and gardening education programs. To date, the annual program has donated nearly $1,000,000 in funds benefiting more than 35,000 individuals. It is estimated that past Grant recipients have grown more than 90 tons of fresh produce for their communities in the past six years of the program.

For more information about the Seeds of Change™ Grant Program, please visit seedsofchangegrant.com.

About Seeds of Change™

Seeds of Change™ was founded in 1989 by passionate gardeners with a vision to make organically grown seeds available to gardeners and farmers, while preserving countless heirloom seed varieties in danger of being lost to the "advances" of modern industrial agriculture. For 27 years, we have remained true to our original vision by offering a wide selection of organic seeds including heirloom, traditional, and rare seeds. Our seeds are produced through a network of certified organic family farms and professional growers. Through these partnerships, we continually cultivate study and develop seeds with the goal of producing the finest certified organic varieties to share with our fellow gardeners and farmers. In 1997 our business expanded to also include Organic Food inspired by the notion that great taste and sustainability go hand in hand.   We now offer a wide variety of Ready to Heat organic Rice and Grain varieties. For more information about Seeds of Change® visit www.seedsofchange.com for our seed products and www.seedsofchangefoods.com for our food products. For additional information, please contact us at the information provided above or at Seeds of Change, P.O. Box 4908, Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220.

Contact: Samantha Forth, 310-754-4122

SOURCE Seeds of Change

Related Links

http://www.seedsofchange.com