EPA Awards $15,000 Grant To Philadelphia Group For Sustainable Food Management

On October 7, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Bullock Garden Project, Inc. (BGP) of Philadelphia has been selected to receive funding to support a project to capitalize on gleaning to reduce farm food loss under the Sustainable Materials Management grant opportunity.  

BGP works to help create, inspire, assist, and support schools and organizations implementing gardening programs. EPA anticipates that it will award BGP a grant in the amount of $15,000 once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. 

Funding this project furthers the Administration's goal of helping communities, including local governments, to achieve their sustainability goals.

“Due to the pandemic, food insecurity is affecting families across the U.S.,” said EPA Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “This means gleaning projects like the one proposed by BGP are more important than ever.”

BGP’s philosophy encourages garden education in school curricula to increase academic, social and emotional development as well as sustainability awareness in a diverse population of children. 

BGP will use these grant funds to work directly with local farmers to ensure edible food left in the fields is harvested and sold to local markets thereby reducing farm food loss. 

BGP’s gleaning program will engage youth in community service, increase awareness of the impact of food deserts in marginalized communities, reduce unnecessary food waste, all while teaching and broadening awareness of agri-social issues.

“In the face of this global pandemic, BGP immediately shifted gears from solely educating others about gardening to joining the movement to help feed others in need,” said Sonya Harris, Founder and CEO of the Bullock Garden Project.  “After watching clips of farmers across the nation till under crops of food, they were unable to sell, and hundreds of families standing in food pantry lines for hours in attempts to get some kind of food for their families, we knew we needed to help.  We began connecting with local farms to see what foods we could glean, then donate that food to feed families in need.”

Visit EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management webpage to learn more about this program.

[Posted: October 7, 2020]  PA Environment Digest