Silicon Valley HealthCorps Partners Begin Planting Dozens of Community and School Gardens

Special media opportunity Saturday September 26 to see dozens of gardens planted in San Jose and harvesting in East Palo Alto

For more information contact
Nicole Kohleriter
The Health Trust
408.879.4112
415.385.2283 - Cell
NicoleK@healthtrust.org

Thanks to a generous $1.02 million grant from AmeriCorps, The Health Trust has brought ten local organizations together to form Silicon Valley HealthCorps, an ambitious project to plant, produce and distribute 180,000 pounds of locally grown, organic produce through new community and school gardens, over the next three years. This Saturday September 26, three HealthCorps partners, Sacred Heart Community Service's La Mesa Verde Project, Santa Clara Master Gardeners and Collective Roots, will commence planting at 30 backyard gardens in downtown San Jose and harvesting in East Palo Alto. In the coming weeks, many other partners will also be breaking ground or expanding existing gardens.

The goal of Silicon Valley HealthCorps is to use gardens, farm to school programs and the work of 46 AmeriCorps members to bring fresh fruits, vegetables and education to residents of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Silicon Valley like many other places in America has seen skyrocketing rates of overweight and obesity, and related chronic diseases like diabetes. Health
experts recommend local gardens as a means to improve access to healthy food and to increase physical activity.

“Gardens also empower a community; we come together to grown our own food and it is an uplifting feeling that really brings the community together,” says Raul Lozano, who leads HealthCorps partner Sacred Heart Community Service's La Mesa Verde Project.

Wolfram Alderson of partner Collective Roots agreed. “Gardens are particularly impactful for our lower income neighborhoods who might not have easy access to fresh healthy food.”

The Silicon Valley HealthCorps includes Conexions, Collective Roots, Friends of Master Gardeners, Full Circle Farm, Santa Clara University, CAFF (Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Veggielution, HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Learning) Friends of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens" and Sacred Heart Community Service's La Mesa Verde Project. The Silicon Valley HealthCorps is funded through a grant from AmeriCorps and the Partnership is led by The Health Trust, a Silicon Valley nonprofit foundation with a vision to make Silicon Valley the healthiest region in America.