Our Impact

Food Justice Highlights

• We currently serve 2500 students and community members through our community garden and food justice efforts.
• Students and community members are taking food home, harvesting in gardens, creating and participating in events.
  Our students efforts helped feed families in need throughout the year.
• We're developing a distribution network throughout the City of Inglewood and Los Angeles to deliver healthy food to families in need (currently have at least four sites including: Warren Lane Elementary, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center, Morningside High School and LA Care)
• As an organization, we helped launch a healthy and sustainable communities campaign in partnership with the mayor of Inglewood.
• We've also launched the 100 Seeds of Change initiative intended to create 100 gardens in Inglewood and the South Bay community. (we currently have thirteen sites targeted for expansion including: Warren Lane Elementary, South Bay Child Development Center, 7 local community residents and Edward Vincent Park at the Senior Center).
• We served as a distribution site for the TreePeople's Fruit Tree Distribution Program 2011 and helped distribute 700 trees to residents in the City of Inglewood and South LA community on January 29th, 2011.
• We currently offer workshops, info sessions and trainings for the broader community to engage in gardening, healthy eating and an active living lifestyle.

Academic Justice Highlights

• Since 2006, we've helped nearly 75 black males graduate from Morningside High School where the dropout rate is approximately 33%. With our help, at least 12 of these young men have gone on to college or to pursue secondary education.
• Since 2006, we have sent over 200 students to visit university campuses and present at research conferences (many of these trips have included overnight stays). Research shows that exposure to a university experience significantly impacts a student's desire to attend.
• We have provided test preparation (SAT, ACT and CAHSEE) to support college access and high school graduation. Research shows that preparatory courses help increase test scores for most students thereby supporting their chances of getting into a college.
• Students connected to their culture and their communities are more likely to return to their neighborhood to help out. Many of our former students are returning to mentor and advise current students.
• This year's cohort is also putting together a documentary challenging stereotypes about themselves and their community and will present it during a research conference at UCLA in May 2011.