The Seeds of Change® Grant Program Awards $300,000 to Support Sustainable School and Community Garden Programs Across the United States

RANCHO DOMINGUEZ, Calif., May 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seeds of Change® brand, the leading producer of sustainably grown seeds and nutritious organic foods, is honored to announce the 24 recipients of the 2016 Seeds of Change® Grant Program. The recipients are comprised of 12 community garden and 12 school garden programs. Four organizations – two school gardens and two community gardens – will receive $20,000 grants and the remaining recipients will each receive $10,000 grants.

The four organizations to receive the $20,000 grants are two community gardens, Antioch Discovery Garden in Fort Smith, Ark.; and La Mesa Verde in San Jose, Calif.; and two school gardens: Friends Academy Garden in Dartmouth, Mass.; and Rockford Middle School in Rockford, Minn. The Grant ambassadors for these four organizations are awarded the opportunity to attend an organic conference and receive a personal Seeds of Change® brand garden mentor.

"It's amazing to see how communities rally behind their school and community garden initiatives and we are honored to be a part of a national mission to create more sustainable communities one seed, one plate at a time," said Andrew Cops, Marketing Director for the Seeds of Change® brand. "Our Grant Program helps enhance the environmental, economic and social well-being of gardens and farms while helping local communities bring about awareness of their sustainable initiatives."

In addition to the four $20,000 recipients, 10 school and 10 community gardens will receive $10,000 grants to support new or existing gardening and sustainable farming programs. Each award recipient has developed a program that focuses on telling the seed-to-plate story through sustainable, community-based gardening and farming programs. The following recipients were selected to receive $10,000 grants:

School Gardens

• Bailey Bear Garden in Austin, Texas ($10,000)
• Charles Helmers Elementary School Garden in Valencia, Calif. ($10,000)
• Crocker Riverside Elementary's Outdoor Classroom Garden in Sacramento, Calif. ($10,000)
• Deer Lakes School Gardens in Tarentum, Pa. ($10,000)
• Greeley Garden in Long Island City, N.Y. ($10,000)
• Greenport School and Community Garden in Greenport, N.Y. ($10,000)
• Lawndale Elementary School District – Garden Program in Lawndale, Calif. ($10,000)
• Riverside City College Community Garden in Riverside, Calif. ($10,000)
• Riverside Middle School Garden (RMSG) in Watertown, Wis. ($10,000)
• Spring Hill Elementary SCRATCH Garden in Huntington, W. Va. ($10,000)

Community Gardens

• Compton Community Garden in Compton, Calif. ($10,000)
• Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market in Pittsfield, Mass. ($10,000)
• Lafayette Neighborhood Community Garden in Uniontown, Pa. ($10,000)
• Livsey School Orchard in Tucker, Ga. ($10,000)
• Real Food Rising in Salt Lake City, Utah ($10,000)
• Rosebud Reservation's Keya Wakpala Community Garden in Mission, S.D. ($10,000)
• Sankanac CSA in Phoenixville, Pa. ($10,000)
• The Garden Farm in Alpharetta, Ga. ($10,000)
• The Learning Garden at Tom Graham Park in Corpus Christi, Texas ($10,000)
• Wakeman Town Farm and Sustainability Garden in Westport, Conn. ($10,000)

The Seeds of Change® Grant Program is funded by the brand's "1% Fund," the company's commitment to donate one percent of its net sales to support sustainable, community-based nutrition, gardening and farming programs. The 24 organizations were selected from nearly 900 applicants nationwide and funding was split to support both community and school gardens. More than 600,000 votes were cast by individuals to determine the top 50 finalists before a panel of judges evaluated those applications and selected the final award recipients. 

For more information about the Seeds of Change® brand or the Seeds of Change® Grant Program, please visit www.seedsofchangegrant.com. Fans of the organic food movement can also follow the Seeds of Change® brand on social media by tracking #SeedsofChangeGrant and by visiting the brand's Facebook or Twitter pages.

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.

SOURCE Seeds of Change

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