Tray of plant sprouts on table
Community members placing plants in raised garden beds

San Jose Home Gardens

$45,000

open space authority funds contributed to project

2018

project awarded

The Authority helped fund Valley Verde’s San Jose Family Gardening Project, which creates and maintains community and home gardens in collaboration with 140 low-income families. The project addresses the need for access to green spaces for underserved families, healthy and affordable fresh food, and environmental education. Valley Verde provides families with raised-bed gardens at home along with all the supplies needed to grow fresh vegetables and a year of monthly workshops which cover topics such as urban agriculture, habitat for native wildlife, and water conservation. After one year, participants are eligible to become mentors for other families in the program, growing the circle of environmentally sustainable gardening skills and fostering sense of community in urban areas.
Award Date:
May 9, 2018
Program:
Urban Grant Program
Location:
466 W San Carlos St, San Jose, CA 95125

Have a similar Project?

Learn more about our Grant Program

Enter your email address to get updates on our grant programs

Other Success
Stories

Guadalupe Gardens Open Space Protection

Guadalupe Gardens Open Space Protection

The Authority contributed funds to help the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy (GRPC) protect and enhance an open space area in Guadalupe Gardens by defining its borders via split-rail fences, adding Guadalupe Gardens lettering to the fences along Hedding, Coleman, and Asbury streets to create a sense of place, and planting poppies along the fence to create an attractive border.

Field to Farm Stand: Building Community and Climate Resilience

Field to Farm Stand: Building Community and Climate Resilience

Veggielution’s Field to Farm Stand project builds on the momentum of an 18-month land use planning process for the six-acre community farm, completed in September 2019 with support from Open Space Authority. This project takes the ideas surfaced in the land use plan to the next stage, in the form of a comprehensive site design. With a site design in place, Veggielution will be positioned to invest in final construction documents and the build out of a new produce packing station, which will be more centrally located, enabling the organization to more efficiently and safely expand their farm box distribution to 500 boxes or more per week. The site plan and capital improvements will allow Veggielution to expand their urban farm more intentionally, to better support public health and local agriculture on behalf of the beautiful but underserved East San José community and the County of Santa Clara overall.

Guadalupe Oak Grove Park Outdoor Classroom

Guadalupe Oak Grove Park Outdoor Classroom

The Authority helped to fund the City of San José’s project to construct an outdoor classroom for Guadalupe Oak Grove Park patrons that serves as a space for environmental education programs and nature-based outdoor play. This space invites families to spend time in nature while also encouraging them to learn about the five different ecosystems within the park and the various wildlife that live there.