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Filed under: EVENTS!, HEALTH!, Non-Profit of the Month, Theo

NPO of the Month: Peterson Garden Project!

Written by on May 27th 2016

Each month we donate a portion of sales at one of our events to a local non-profit organization that we admire. This month we are working with Peterson Garden Project and will be donating 3% of our sales from the Theo Trunk Show on June 4th! 

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In 2010, LaManda Joy started her first organic community garden in a vacant lot on Peterson Ave – a lot that in the 1940’s had been one of the many Victory Gardens that flourished throughout Chicago at the time. Since then, Peterson Garden Project has flourished and there are now community gardens all over Chicago, but what is even more important to LaManda is that her organization has taught hundreds of new gardeners how to grow nutritious food in their own neighborhoods.

Peterson Garden Project’s mission is to recruit, educate and inspire a new generation of gardeners who want to gain control of their food supply, grow their own produce organically, and make urban gardening the norm-not the exception. 

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 “Learning together in the garden, and kitchen, does much more than put fresh, nutritious food on the table. It helps build stronger communities, connect us to cultural heritage, improve public health and create a more sustainable, resilient city.”

Peterson Garden Project isn’t just about gardening:

  • Their community cooking school that offers classes and workshops about variety of ethnic cuisines and food cultures which draws upon the diverse backgrounds of the project’s membership. Check out their calendar for upcoming classes like Demystifying Masala: The Secret to Indian Spice Blends on June 2.
  • Grow2Give is their volunteer-run program that provides local food pantries and other organizations with donated produce grown in the gardens.
  • Senior/Senior, Kids in the Kitchen and Fresh Fridays are free programs geared at educating kids and seniors alike about nutrition and the joys of cooking.

Get Involved!

Go to a tea party! Peterson Garden Project is hosting a Mad Tea Party/fundraiser on June 12 at their Vedgewater Garden. Put on your finest or zaniest tea party attire and help keep the project going!

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Get your hands dirty! There are still plots available at some of their community gardens, so sign up, attend an orientation meeting and grow some delicious organic veggies of your own.

Try on some new specs! Come to our Theo Trunk Show on June 4th and pick up a beautiful new pair of glasses – 3% our sales will be donated to Peterson Garden Project!

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Peterson Garden Project continues to grow and there are plenty of ways to get involved – take a look at their Website, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all of the latest gardening news!

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