Aquaponic Garden Campaign
- 1765 Garnet Ave #151, San Diego, CA 92109, United States
Our Mission is to generate funds in order to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from Aquaponic farms and donate the food to nonprofit organizations.
The Aquaponic Garden Campaign is currently planning on purchasing all of the fresh fruits and vegetables from the following Aquaponic farms:
1. VIRIDIS AQUAPONIC GROWERS (www.ViridisAquaponics.com)
Viridis grows locally sustainable food combining the best practices of hydroponics and aquaculture. When the two blend together, a symbiotic balance forms in which nature thrives and produces the purest food grown today.
Viridis aquaponics is an eight acre farm located in Watsonville, California growing specialty greens and tomatoes year round using fish waste to feed the plants. They capitalize on the recycling of nutrients and water, with a closed loop system that grows more food per square foot than their neighbors. The largest and only CCOF certified aquaponics farm, they continually enhancing their system to stay at the forefront of aquaponics.
Viridis currently grow rex lettuce, bibb lettuce, oakleaf lettuce, sorrel, minutina, cress, thai basil, bok choi, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, kale and chard.
Viridis in Latin means, “to sprout, green, youthful and lively.” What better name for a company that does all of those things on 5% of the water of conventional crop production, zero runoff, organic inputs, and with no chemical pesticides.
To watch the Viridis video...click link below
_______________________________________________________________
The Aquaponic Garden Campaign will be donating all of the fresh fruits and vegetables to the following nonprofit organizations:
1. Auburn Interfaith Food Closet (www.AuburnFoodCloset.com)
Auburn Interfaith Food Closet's main purpose is to provide nutritious food to individuals and families who do not have sufficient resources to purchase it themselves.
2. Food Runners (www.FoodRunners.org)
The mission of Food Runners is to help alleviate hunger in San Francisco, to help prevent waste and to help create community.
________________________________________________________________
Read more about Auburn Food Closet below...
The Food Closet provides a total of nine meals per person per month. A family may visit the Food Closet only once every 30 days. The Food Closet participates in the Federal Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) which utilizes USDA commodity foods through the Placer Food Bank.
The Food Closet is a demonstration of the belief that they have a moral and spiritual obligation to aid residents of our community who are hungry and in need. This group includes low income workers, seniors, disabled, unemployed, homeless, and people in transition. Currently, there are 18 sponsoring churches that collaborate to operate the Auburn the Food Closet.
The Food Closet is a ministry outreach for our churches and volunteers. They care about our community, the people we serve and their volunteers. They collaborate with other organizations that support their vision, mission, values, and strategy. Their volunteers come from their sponsoring churches; they have no paid staff.
The Food Closet is governed by the Board of Directors representing the participating churches. An annual report is produced to provide insight into the financial health of the organization.
The Food Closet captures statistics monthly on the number of families, individuals, and homeless who visit the food closet.
The Food Closet has a YouTube video below that was created by the Auburn Journal, as well as two additional videos highlighting grateful clients expressing their thanks for the support:
_______________________________________________________________________
Read more about Food Runners below...
Food Runners is currently delivering over 15 tons of food a week that would otherwise be thrown away. With help from their volunteer coordinator, their paid truck driver and people like you, they can provide enough food for 3,000 meals a day in San Francisco.
Food Runners founder, Mary Risley is a pioneering figure in the Bay Area food community. Mary started Tante Marie’s Cooking School as a full-time professional school over 35 years ago.
Food Runners was founded by Mary in 1987 as a grass roots organization picking up excess food from businesses and delivering it directly to agencies feeding the hungry in San Francisco. 12 years later, she was awarded “Humanitarian of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation for her work with Food Runners. In 2007, Mary was awarded the Jefferson Award for outstanding volunteerism.
Food Runners founder, along with a small group of concerned professionals came up with a simple idea: donate food from those who have too much to those who have too little. She persuaded some colleagues in the food industry to save their excess food, which she and a few friends picked up in their cars and delivered to local shelters and food programs.
Food Runners today have over 200 volunteers, and more than 450 restaurants, caterers, grocery stores, farmers’ markets and other businesses regularly donate perishable and prepared foods.
Food Runners founder, for eight years ran the all-volunteer organization out of her home, fielding phone calls and coordinating pickups and deliveries. To retrieve and distribute more food to San Francisco’s needy; the program acquired a volunteer coordinator who arranges for pickups and deliveries and a truck driver who manages extra large donations in the Food Runners’ refrigerated truck. And while Food Runners is growing, it remains primarily a program of volunteers, with its original grassroots spirit and simplicity of purpose intact.
Food Runners is a focal point where food donors, volunteers and recipients connect with their community. As Mary explains, “People who like to cook are generous, and they like to see others being fed. The volunteers who pick up and deliver the food have an immediate sense of helping others at the most fundamental level. And the recipients have tangible proof that their fellow San Franciscans really care.”
To watch their video...click link below