2022 Annual Report

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Looking back on this first year of our new strategic plan, I want to reflect and give thanks for all that we’ve accomplished together. I’m so grateful for the many ways you’ve helped share the love for growing and eating local food. I continue to be astonished at your passion and generosity that allows us to reach our community to help people of all ages learn to grow and realize the possibilities of gardening.

Your support in 2022 expanded access to fresh produce for those who need it. Thanks to you, our staff was able to expand farm stand operations to six offerings per week in Braddock, Homewood, Point Breeze North, and Wilkinsburg, where we distributed over 34,000 lbs of fresh produce to more than 4,000 people. We began growing seedlings in our new Garden Dreams greenhouse. And we continued to build and support school and community gardens and provided teachers with resources and training to connect schoolchildren to fresh food and nutrition education. Our team also worked to secure the future of urban agriculture by building capacity through new farmer training, garden workshops, youth workforce development, and other education and training. None of this would have been possible without your kind support.

I’m grateful for all of the ways you’ve helped people access the resources needed to grow their own food and share in the many benefits of gardening this past year. Thank you for helping to address food apartheid in our region. Fresh produce availability is improving where it’s needed most, and more people than ever have what they need to grow their own fruits and vegetables. This work remains crucial. With inflation taking its toll, more people want to grow their own food to save on grocery bills and empower themselves. Gardens and farm stands are more essential than ever.

As the days get longer, I’m enjoying the hope that sunshine brings along with spring. I’m optimistic about the future and pleased to share with you highlights from our work in 2022 that you helped make possible.

Yours sincerely,

Denele Hughson, Executive Director

TOTAL: $2,152,865

Individual Donations: $193,886

Foundation Grants: $1,298,270

Government Grants: $380,367

Corporate Partnerships: $73,850

Earned Income: $206,492 (workshops, seedling sales, produce sales, etc)

EXPENSES:

TOTAL: $1,864,321

People and program supplies directly accomplishing our mission: $1,469,099

Core operations that keep us running effectively: $252,398

Funds used to raise funds, multiplying your impact: $142,824

GROWING DEEPER ROOTS

Our work starts with our people. As we re-emerge from the pandemic, we have invested intentionally in our staff and our culture to ensure an inclusive and vibrant workplace that allows us to best serve our community and grow our mission. Together we observed many personal, professional, and organizational triumphs in 2022 that remind us of the joy and purpose of growing and sharing food with our community.

We celebrated personal milestones as two staff members welcomed new babies to the world. We recognized professional growth as we promoted three long-time staff members to management positions in each of our departments. And we continued to grow by hiring for new positions so we can deepen our commitment to our mission, our program partners, and the network of gardens and urban farms we sustain. As we begin the 2023 growing season, we celebrate that 60% of our full-time staff has been working at Grow Pittsburgh for five years or more. We were also pleased to see our community of support expand thanks to 214 new first-time donors who believe in supporting equitable access to fresh food and the tools, resources, and knowledge to empower people to grow their own.

Grow Pittsburgh continues to strive to ensure that all people in our community have the resources, capacity, and knowledge to fully realize the benefits that food-growing projects bring to our neighborhoods. We are excited to continue to work with partners like you to encourage folks to grow food in backyard, school and community gardens and urban farms throughout our region. We’re eager to make progress with you on our strategic plan to build capacity for growers of all ages, while transforming the food system to be one of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Thank you for your support. We could not exist without you!

60% 51%

of our full-time staff has worked at Grow Pittsburgh for 5+ years

of those who contributed in 2021 donated again last year!

WE GROW AND DISTRIBUTE FOOD

Through our urban farms and food distributions, we provide residents access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. Our sites–Braddock Farms, Shiloh Farm, and Garden Dreams Urban Farm & Nursery–demonstrate what is possible for urban agriculture in our region.

34,273 pounds of food grown on our urban farms

4,443 residents served

6,060 pounds of produce donated to local community organizations and food pantries

31,000 seedlings grown in our new Garden Dreams greenhouse in Wilkinsburg

LOOKING AHEAD

3,109 seedlings donated to area school, community, and backyard growers

10 apprentices hired to receive new farmer training and help meet additional needs at our urban farms

24 youth participated in our paid urban farmers in training program

CULTIVATING THE FUTURE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE through education, training, and resources that connect people of all ages to each other, to land, and to fresh food.

“GROW PITTSBURGH IS REALLY GROWING FOOD THAT THE COMMUNITY IS ASKING FOR AT PRICES WE CAN AFFORD.”

—Braddock Farms workshare volunteer

WE TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO GROW FOOD

Our educational programs span from on-farm learning and workforce development for youth and workshops for community members, to garden and cooking activities that are integrated into classroom curriculum in schools and preschools.

2 learning gardens activated with new programming in the 2021-22 school year

5 new early childhood center gardens created in the 2021-22 school year

95% of teachers believe gardening enhanced student engagement in class

LOOKING AHEAD

95% of teachers feel confident and prepared to bring students into the garden on their own 90% of teachers feel that students experienced physical and emotional benefits from being outdoors

60+ school and early childhood gardens sustained and supported

DEEPER ROOTS RATHER THAN WIDER BRANCHES.

After years of growth with new gardens, we are focused on sustaining our network by giving educators the support they need to thrive.

“STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY CHOOSING TO LEARN NEW FOODS AND HOW THEY ARE GROWN.”

—Teacher, Westinghouse High School, Homewood

WE BUILD AND SUPPORT GARDENS

We work with communities to establish and support gardens at schools and neighborhoods across the Pittsburgh region. Our Garden Resource Center is a tool lending library and materials depot, making gardening more accessible and affordable to all our neighbors.

4 community gardens established

4 graduated gardens received intensive support to continue programming

46 additional gardens supported through our Sustainability Fund

43,000 estimated pounds of food grown last year across all 44 community gardens we helped create

34,094 square feet of new garden area added in Allegheny County

761 community gardeners participated in our 2022 programming

349 active members of our Garden Resource Center tool library, including 96 new members

227 free lead soil tests provided to backyard and community gardeners

LOOKING AHEAD

SUSTAINING OUR COMMUNITY GARDEN NETWORK through educational opportunities and the return of our Community Composter School.

“EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE HEALTHY FOOD AND ACCESS TO IT.”

—Community Gardener, Duquesne

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS WHO MAKE THE WORK POSSIBLE

2022 COMMUNITY PARTNERS — LOCAL GOVERNMENT, BUSINESSES, AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP SHAPE OUR EFFORTS

AgRecycle Compost Center

Allegheny County

Conservation District

Allegheny Health Network, Suburban Campus

Allegheny Intermediate Unit

Allegheny Land Trust

AmeriCorps/KEYS Service Corps

Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania

A Second Chance, Inc.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Bible Center Church / Oasis

Farm & Fishery

Bear Left Bear

Best of Blawnox

Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh Co-op (BUGS)

Blawnox Borough

Bonafide Bellevue

Braddock Borough

Braddock Carnegie Library

Braddock Economic Development Corporation

Braddock Redux

Braddock Youth Project

Carbon Compost

Chapon’s Greenhouse

Chatham University School of Sustainability

Churchview Farm

City of Pittsburgh

Clearview Federal Credit Union

Crankshaft Service Co.

Cutting Root Apothecary

East End Food Coop

EIS Solar

Ethos Collaborative

evolveEA

Evey True Value Hardware

Farmer Girl Eb

Five Points Merchant Group

Frick Art and Historical Center

Gateway School District

Greater Pittsburgh

Community Food Bank

Grounded Strategies

Herbein and Co.

Heritage Community Initiatives

High Mowing Seeds

Hill District Consensus Group

Hilltop Urban Farm

Just Harvest

Love Fellowship Church

Manchester Bidwell Corporation

Marcus Studio

Mount Oliver Borough

New Academy Charter School

New Sun Rising

Northgate School District

Operation Better Block / Junior Green Corps

Pashek + MTR

Pasa Sustainable Agriculture

Pennsylvania Women’s Agricultural Network

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Pittsburgh Food Policy Council

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

Pittsburgh Public Schools

Pittsburgh Public Schools

Food Services

Pittsburgh Urban

Gardening Project

Procopia Consulting

Propel Schools

Repair the World Pittsburgh

Sankofa Village

Community Garden

Seed Savers Exchange

Soil Sisters

Student Conservation Association

The Environmental Charter

School at Frick Park

The Food Trust

Thomas Blvd Group

Tree Pittsburgh

Triboro Ecodistrict

Uptown Partners

Verona Borough

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Wilderness Lumber Co.

Wild Rise Bakery

Wilkinsburg Community Ministry

Wilkinsburg School District

Woodland Hills School District

YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh

YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh

2022 FUNDING PARTNERS — GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE GRANTMAKERS WHO MAKE THIS WORK POSSIBLE

1409 Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation

Allegheny County Economic Development

Allegheny County Health Department

Allegheny Foundation

Benter Foundation

Birmingham Foundation

Colcom Foundation

Collage Giving Fund

Edwin and Kathryn Clarke

Family Foundation

Edwin R. Crawford Estate Trust Farm Aid

Grable Foundation

Hans and Leslie Fleischner Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation

Elsie Hillman Foundation

Henry L Hillman Foundation

Howard & Nell E. Miller Foundation

Laurel Foundation

McElhattan Foundation

McSwigan Family Foundation

Montague Family Foundation

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

PNC Charitable Trusts

PNC Foundation

Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh

Richard King Mellon Foundation

Roy A. Hunt Foundation

Shear Family Foundation

Snee-Reinhardt

Charitable Foundation

The Heinz Endowments

The Opportunity Fund

The Pittsburgh Foundation

The Sampson Foundation

Theo & Pia van de Venne

Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County

Walton Family Foundation

2022 CORPORATE PARTNERS — LOCAL AND NATIONAL BUSINESSES THAT FUND OUR PROGRAMS

Carnegie Mellon University –Heinz College

Compass RE / Porch Swing Collective

Dancing Gnome Brewery

Dollar Bank

Duquesne Light Co.

Eat’n Park Hospitality Group

Evey True Value

Hardware and Rental

Farm to Table Buy Local

Giant Eagle

Harvie

Kraft Heinz Corporation Foundation

Littler Mendelson

Patagonia

Pirates Charities

PrimeLending

Strassburger McKenna

Gutnick & Gefsky

UPMC Health Plan

Whole Foods Market

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Paulina Gatarz

Andrea Glickman, Treasurer

Catalina Hoyos

Simon Huntley

Katelyn McCombs

Amy Malen

Asia Mason, Secretary

Gretchen Moore

Jamie Moore, Vice Chair

Alex Stanzione

Hana Uman

Anne Marie Toccket, Chair

Renee Wilson

Robert Grey

Urban Agriculture Programs Manager

Denele Hughson

Executive Director

Redding Jackson School Gardens Program Manager

Annie Fox

Community Garden Project Manager

Raynise Kelly

Garden Resource Center Manager

Nick Lubecki

Director of Urban Agriculture and Production

Heather Manning Garden Educator

Claire Matway

Community Garden Network Program Manager

Hanna Mosca

GROW PITTSBURGH TEAM:

Jasen Bernthisel

Community Garden Project Manager

Vee Bleiweiss

Development Coordinator

Ian Bonnet

Garden Educator

Adia Effiong

Director of School Garden Programs

Ly Evangelista Office & Administration Manager

Joseph Zwicker THANKS

Garden Dreams Greenhouse and Farm Manager

Felicity Shafer Communications Coordinator

Rayden Sorock

Director of Community Projects

Victoria Thurmond

Early Childhood Garden Educator

Ryan Walsh

Director of Development and Communications

Silvan Goddin

Shiloh Farm and Greenhouse Manager