Trinidad Community Garden
-
Upload
dianna-loevner -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of Trinidad Community Garden
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
1/12
!
! !
!"#$%&&'%!()*+,-./012)0324-(5067(./+!
#)-.-8(806299:.-,;0$()8+.0"(,+5;..062)28+9:2?0"5+-9(.=0@-(..(0A2+B.+)0C)21+
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
2/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 2
Trinidad Community Garden
Background, Purpose and Focus
The District of Columbia has a significant grocery gap where low-income and minority
communities often have far less access to full-service grocery stores than do higher-income
communities. The lack of options and availability of resources affects not only food security in
these pockets but also impacts the health and well being of citizens of these communities. Food
security is crucial for the survivability of communities. The report, When Healthy Food is Out of
Reach1, points out that access to nutritious food is a serious challenge especially for many low-
income communities. Often due to the unequal distribution of food and resources this issue
leaves many neighborhoods without access to full-service grocers, according to a report by D.C.
Hunger Solutions and Social Compact2. Nationally, this grocery gap forces many low-income
people to spend time and money to travel long distances in order to access fresh produce at full
grocery stores.
In areas where full-service grocery stores are absent, shoppers may rely on small corner
or convenience shops, which oftentimes do not have sufficient healthy food and may charge
higher prices for the limited nutritious foods available. The purpose of the Trinidad Community
Garden Initiative is to strengthen the food supply in the Trinidad area and create a sustainable
urban partnership that brings healthy food to the community. The focus we believe will have the
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
FRAChunger2015, dir. When Healthy Food is Out of Reach. YouTube. 18 March 2010. Web. 26 Nov. 2012.1
2DC Hunger Solutions.DC Hunger Solutions: Ending Hunger in the Nations Capitol, DC Hunger Solutions. Web.
26 Nov. 2012.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
3/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 3
greatest impact on the Trinidad are in regards to addressing the issue of food deserts is through
the creation of a community garden.
As part of the Nutrition and Physical Wellness Program, a DC Department of Health,
Community Health Administrations project, the City of Washington provides funding for
community betterment initiatives. Taking advantage of this grant program, The Trinidad
Community Garden Initiative will request funds to use in coordinating a large community garden
in the Trinidad neighborhood of the city located in the Northeast quadrant. This garden will
strengthen the local food supply in the area and create a sustainable urban partnership that brings
healthy food to the community, in specific, single family households.
Situation Analysis- SWOT
Strengths
A community garden will organically attract support from the neighborhood. Community
garden brings a neighborhood together over common goal. The inclusive mission of campaign
offers an inspiring mission/ idea. The initiative will garner a dedicated base of staff and
volunteers, the program gets support from many partners & donors, this effort will attract media
attention and support.
Weaknesses
Initiative faces the possibility of frequent temp staff turnover, unclear who will provide
leadership, a sole individual will not tend the roles and responsibilities (may lead to lack of
action), fundraising strategy/ committed personnel to raise funds, organizational structure/
communication, coordinated farm crop/ distribution strategy, marketing and PR.
Opportunities
providing a cultural center for community to act as forum, get people outside, excellent way to
test new model in urban environment, personal relevance of goal, organizations will want towork with us, volunteer resources, expansion.
ThreatsBad soil, key staff and volunteers not want to work on the project, disinterest, theft, vandalism,over growth, drought/freeze, environmental factors, budget.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
4/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 4
Precedents
The Washington Youth Garden is a prime example of a community garden that we strive
to emulate. This garden was conceived in 1971 at the U.S. National Arboretum. It provides a
fascinating environmental science and food education program for Washington children and their
families. The garden and Arboretum act as a live classroom, teaching participants about
relationships with food and the natural world. This garden runs year-round.3
The Washington Youth Garden is also a Lets Move! Garden under First Lady Michelle
Obamas Lets Move! Museums and Gardens Initiative helping individuals learn about healthy
food choices and promotes physical activity. By attaching the garden to this initiative, we have a
goal to strive towards and a role model garden to view also in the Northeast quadrant.
Primary Target Audience
The priority target audience for this campaign is the matriarchs of low-income families in
the Trinidad neighborhood. Theses women will act as anchors for behavior change and spread
the encouraged behavior throughout the community. As members of the community who care for
the welfare of their social network and dependents, these individuals are the first choice for
health and wellbeing messaging. These mothers, daughters and grandmothers are socially
connected in the community and actively go to church. They often prepare the meals for their
families and make many choices regarding the diets of the household.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3
Washington Youth Garden. Washington Youth Garden: a project of the Friends of the National Arboretum,
Washington Youth Garden. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
5/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 5
Secondary Target Audience
The secondary audiences that will tangentially be affected by the campaigns messaging
are the community fathers, brothers, involved children, and gardening enthusiasts. These
audiences are closely connected to the women in the community, as the women largely influence
opinion and buying decisions. In addition to adults the community garden will target children
from age 10-15 years olds. Targeting this age bracket will ensure that the program affects both
the old and the young and generate a groundswell of support, ideally influencing the behavior of
the middle aged segments. We aim to provide opportunities for these children to get involved in
the community with their parents and grandparents.
The behavior objective of this campaign is to get local community members to develop
and maintain individual garden plots at the community garden. Due to the physical nature of our
campaigns outcome goal, measurement of garden development and contribution will be easily
and accurately accounted for.
The outcome goal is to have every garden plot owner take home and eat fully grown
organic vegetables. In order to successfully measure this goal, our campaign will recruit
volunteers in the local church, then in local shelters, local nurseries, and even in college
communities. Every Sunday after church these volunteers will open the community garden for a
given window of time. During this time frame, volunteers will oversee garden plot owners and
provide assistance whenever possible. The volunteers will have a working knowledge of
gardening and will therefore be helpful during the process to novice gardeners. In terms of
security, this measure of volunteers overseeing the gardening will prevent theft (both internally
and externally). It will also foster a sense of community among the gardeners by providing
encouragement for maintaining the plots.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
6/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 6
There are several perceived barriers to the campaign that might be challenging to
overcome. The first barrier will be recruiting volunteers with the expertise and willingness to
donate their time to this type of campaign. We plan to overcome this barrier by first recruiting in
the local church, then in local shelters, local nurseries, and even in college communities.
Another barrier to the project is making low-income community members believe that
eating organic vegetables is important to their health. A way to triumph this barrier is to position
the gardening initiative as a social activity. Most community gardens do not encourage
socializing and are maintained on an individual basis. This community garden would only be in
operation on certain days at particular times. The plants and vegetables will be maintained and
harvested as a group. Vegetables and plants grown on individual plots will be essentially
owned by the gardening designated to that plot. This will not be a collectivized activity,
however it will be nurtured and marketed as a group effort. This position strategy might be
attractive for elderly community members who are looking for social interaction opportunities.
General disinterest in the behavior also presents a barrier.
Competing Behaviors
Competing behaviors to our campaign include buying organic/conventional vegetables at
a grocery store. Eating unhealthy foods or abstaining from fresh produce will most likely be the
number one competing behavior among low-income individuals. Choosing to spend your time
elsewhere or along, rather than in a group is a possibility that might affect participation. Another
threat to our desired behavior is the unwillingness to invest time in maintaining and harvesting
vegetables.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
7/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 7
Influential Others
Influential others to our target audience include employers, middle-aged children of
elderly parents, friends and family, doctors, and church clergy.
Positioning Statement
We want the women in the Trinidad neighborhood to view planting and tending a
community garden as a low cost way to provide fresh produce for their families and as more
beneficial than depending on grocery stores and engaging in unhealthy eating habits.
Marketing Mix Strategies: Pretested and Refined Based on Target Audience Research
Product
Core Product: Multiple ways to access local, sustainably produced food.
Actual Product: Many different options to choose from. Engage both children and adults in food
production in ways that educate them about the complex relationship between food, health and
the environment. Facilitate projects so they integrate into our communities, encourage
community building and serve as models for other communities.
Augmented Product: Design all projects so that they serve as a welcome environment and open
space.
Price
Engaging in the encouraged behavior is at no financial cost to the target audience.
Other costs incurred: time of volunteers, waiting for vegetables to grow, physical strain of
gardening, construction costs
Place
Promotion will be taken place at venues around the garden such as local establishments, large
grocers and the Home Depot located on Rhode Island Avenue, roughly 1.5 miles away from the
plot.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
8/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 8
Promotion
The promotional strategies of this campaign will include:
! Direct mailing - flyers and documentation distributed to residents in the area! Distributing flyers - drop off flyers to neighborhood establishments and throughout the
area
! Attractive signage - creation of a pretty sign located by the garden that will lurecommunity members in
! Contacting local news media - make news media aware of the initiative to promotegarden
! Free gardening lessons and seminars - lessons and seminars to enhance the act ofgardening and to bring people into the garden to become active
!Farmers Market event - local farmers come in to the garden to sell other kinds of organicfood products to provide further options for the community
Plan for Monitoring & Evaluation
The initial goals for the community garden are to move beyond its initial phase of start-
up, establish a good organization and staff and begin to effectively communicate the uniqueness
of the organization and the successes of its projects. This will support fundraising, increase
partner candidates, expand projects and resources and allow the community garden to have a
larger impact.
Significant increases in individual donations; major donors, corporate sponsors and
events are required. This will need assembling and expansion of contact lists and expansion of
marketing/ PR efforts. Information that outlines the mission and purpose of the organization, its
unique standing and benefit to the community need to be created to support fundraising efforts.
The only time that people are going into the community garden is when volunteers are letting
them in. Attendance and the vegetables grown and taken will be will be documented by logging
on a clipboard. This will be done during the entirety of the time that the garden is open.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
9/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 9
Costs
Costs associated with project (see exhibit 2) are fairly straightforward. We would start with an
initial budget of $100,000. Initial costs would include seeds and planting materials. The
partnership with Home Depot would eliminate any costs that building the foundation of the
garden might include. Additional costs in the first quarter include rent for the plot, marketing,
legal/accounting expenses, insurance, miscellaneous expenses (construction overages, initial
upfront costs, layout changes, etc.), and salaries. Due to the fact that this would be a volunteer
project no salaries would be expensed. In Quarter two variable costs remain the same. Fixed
costs decrease slightly because less money will be spent on advertising and marketing. The third
and fourth quarter remain symmetrical in both variable (cost of seeds and produce starters) and
fixed costs.
Plan for Implementation and Program Management
To implement this program the community must be engaged. The project begins with
community outreach aspect that serves to garner interest for the garden. As the flagship
promotional event, a farmers market will be used to educate the community on the benefits of a
community garden. This event will also aim to provide educational information for individuals
keep. At this event a preliminary signup sheet will be distributed in order to get a mailing list and
roster of highly interested individuals. Promotional activities will be rolled out in tandem with
informational sessions.
A groundbreaking event will occur three weeks later and construction, sponsored by
Home Depot, will begin. Home Depot will provide financial support and donate gardening
supplies and labor. Community members, clergy, and home depot representatives will help
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
10/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 10
prepare the site and get it ready for planting. Restaurants will donate their organic waste such as
seeds and composting materials. The planting will occur on a seasonal basis there after. The
initial setup operations of the community garden fall under the responsibility of the community
volunteers. Critical volunteers will tend to the maintenance of the facilities. Every Sunday after
church these volunteers will open the community garden for a given window of time.
Its during this window of time that the target audience will engage in the behavior
objective. The community garden acts as a cultural center that strengthens the ties between
community members and their relationship to the land, and their urban environment. Through
tending a community garden in their own neighborhood, the members of the community are
provided a low cost way to provide fresh produce for their families and as more beneficial than
depending on grocery stores and engaging in unhealthy eating habits.
Throughout the season volunteers will supervise, assist and communicate with garden
plot owners. To best protect the garden from the aforementioned threats (such as pest, vandalism,
theft) security of the space, through fencing and other preventive measures, will be treated as
utmost priorities. This model will work to unite the community around the common goal of
bettering their food options and potential for making healthy life choices.
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
11/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 11
Appendix
Exhibit 1Plot of Land at 1700 Maryland Avenue N
-
7/28/2019 Trinidad Community Garden
12/12
Corodemus, Kleiman and Loevner 12
Exhibit 2: Projected Financials 2013