Grant Application and Guidelines
2011 Application Deadline is May 11, 2011
Nourishing North Carolina (NNC) is a partnership between Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and the NC Recreation & Park Association to establish or enhance community gardens in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties by the end of 2013. The North Carolina Community Garden Partners have joined us in the venture to increase access to and consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables to North Carolina’s citizens. Funds will be awarded in each county to implement the project.
General Information/Guidelines:
· Nourishing North Carolina (NNC) will be funding community gardens in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties throughout 2011, 2012 and 2013 with an average of 33 each year.
· Funding up to $3000 is available per county. The funding may be awarded to one garden or may be divided among several gardens based on applications received. A collaborative application to fund more than one garden per county will be given priority over competitive applications within a county.
· Grants will be awarded over the next three years. The first deadline for submitting an application is May 11, 2011. Additional applications will be accepted in 2012 and 2013.
· NNC is looking to fund gardens that have strong collaboration between parks & recreation and the community. Priority will be given to applications where parks & recreation, the health department and cooperative extension are involved. Where this isn’t feasible applications showing other strong support will be considered.
· Priority will be given to gardens that will be sited on parks & recreation property, but where that is not feasible, gardens sited on other public lands will be considered.
· Funding may be requested to establish a new garden or enhance an existing garden.
· Funding may not be used for land acquisition.
· Funding may be used for purchasing supplies, materials, plants, planting material, fencing, etc.
· Produce from NNC funded gardens cannot be sold.
· Gardens located in food deserts or areas that will be providing fresh produce to underserved/at-risk-populations will be given higher consideration. A food desert is any area where healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain. It is prevalent in rural as well as urban areas and is most prevalent in low-socioeconomic minority communities, and is associated with a variety of diet-related health problems.
Scope:
This is a three year project and participating organizations are expected to report and provide updates on their garden over the duration of the program. NNC grantees that adhere to the reporting schedule will be eligible to receive additional funding for year two and three to assist in the continuation and growth of the garden.
· Gardens initially funded in 2011 are eligible to receive an additional $750 in 2012 & 2013 for a total of $4500 pending success of the garden and reporting of required information. This additional funding will be provided annually. Three years of reporting required.
· Gardens initially funded in 2012 are eligible to receive an additional $750 in 2013 for a total of $3750 pending success of the garden and reporting of required information. This additional funding will be provided annually. Two years of reporting required.
· Gardens initially funded in 2013 will receive the $3000 grant with no additional funding. One year of reporting required.
Requirements
· NNC gardens are required to designate a garden manager as the point of contact and who is responsible for all reporting plus management of the garden team. (The American Gardening Association recommends strongly that any new garden have at least 10 participating members, assuring that, despite attrition, the garden will have adequate support to be well maintained.)
· Participating NNC gardens must have a committed garden team with at least ten team members from sponsoring organizations and community representatives.
· The garden manager is expected to share information about and from Nourishing North Carolina with those that participate in the local garden.
· Applicants must have a written plan with timeline on the steps the team will take to implement their garden project.
· At least 10% of produce must be donated to local food pantries, homeless shelters or food rescue organizations.
· NNC gardens will be provided signage, designating the garden as part of the Nourishing NC network, which is to be erected in the garden area.
· NNC gardens will be expected to register with the NC Community Garden Partners (no charge).
· NNC gardens will be expected to share success stories, photos, etc. that can be used in promotional materials to spotlight the success of their garden.
· NNC gardens are encouraged to plan celebrations and educational outreach events – i.e., the first harvest, the largest tomato, cooking and preserving classes, growing workshops, donations to social support organizations (such as homeless shelter/food pantries, etc.)
· The garden manager is expected to provide NCRPA with 2 weeks notice of such planned events.
Reporting:
NNC grantees will be required to report online regularly about:
· The harvests from their garden.
· The number of individuals that are consuming produce from the garden.
· The number of individuals/work hours spent in the garden.
· The amount of harvest shared with food pantries, homeless shelters, food recovery organizations, etc.
· Success stories and special events affiliated with their garden.
Questions about the Nourishing North Carolina project should be directed to:
Michelle Wells
Program Director
NC Recreation & Park Association
883 Washington St, Raleigh, NC 27605
919-832-5868
This program is a partnership between
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and
the North Carolina Recreation & Park Association
In cooperation with the NC Community Garden Partners
Nourishing North Carolina Application
This application should be submitted to Michelle Wells at the NC Recreation & Park Association by 5pm on May 11, 2011. Please type your information in the form below, save the file to your system, and send as an email attachment to . You will receive confirmation of your application being received. Note: There are 2 additional attachments noted below that are required for your application to be considered complete.
Location/Agency
County: Buncombe
Park & Recreation Agency Name: Black Mountain Recreation and Parks
Director’s Name: Casey Conner
Garden Manager who is responsible for reporting to Nourishing NC
Name: Carolyn Fryberger
Agency (if applicable): Black Mountain Recreation and Parks
Phone (include area code): 828-669-2052
Email:
Garden Information:
Name of Park where Nourishing NC Garden will be: Black Mountain Recreation Park
Street Address of Park: 17 White Pine Drive
City: Black Mountain State: NC Zip: 28711
If your garden will not be located on park property, please give name/location of requested site and a brief description of why it is not being located on park property:
Is this a new or existing garden? Existing
If existing, how long has it been a working garden? 8 years
If this is a garden to be revived, how long has the garden been non-working?
Does this garden location have access to water? Yes No
Please tell us about the population this garden will serve. Does this garden target one or more of the potentially underserved/at-risk-populations? The Black Mountain Community Garden serves 65 families in Black Mountain through individual plot rentals. 120 first grade and 150 4th grade students from the local public schools visit the garden each year; these schools are classified as Title I schools with over 50% of students receiving free or reduced lunch. The garden is a service learning site for 200 Warren Wilson College students each year. Additionally, through the annual donation of 3,000 pounds of produce the garden serves 1,500 individuals in need of food assistance in the Black Mountain area, including young families and low-income seniors.
Funding Needs:
What are the funding needs for this garden? Be specific with how the funding will be used: Funding will be used to install an edible orchard along a new greenway trail which loops around the garden. Funds are needed for site preparation, permaculture site design, soil ammendments, plants, irrigation, mulching materials, signage, and tools. The planned orchard will feature native edible such as apple trees, nut trees, plum trees, strawberries, intermixed with native at-risk plants such as goldenseal, and ginseng. Interpretive signage will be installed to educate passing greenway trail users and garden visitors about the plantings.
Amount of funding requested (max $3000): $3,000
Community Partners: List community partners and the role they will play in supporting the NNC garden. (Information will be verified with the contacts listed below)
Cooperative Extension Contact Name: Cathy Hohenstein
Phone: 828-255-5522 Email:
What role will they play? Nutrition advisor and educator, leads classes and workshops for the community that utilize community garden produce, such as a summer canning class.
Health Department Contact Name: Terri March
Phone: 828-250-5047 Email:
What role will they play? Technical assistance, networking with other nutrition and physical activity programs in Buncmobe County through the Healthy Buncombe Coalition
Have you made contact with your local Master Gardeners? Yes No
If yes, please list the contact person: Bob Wardwell
Phone: 828-664-9389 Email:
What role will they play? Garden consultant and volunteer
Additional Community Partners:
Agency Name: Warren Wilson College, Service Learning Office
Contact Name: Debra Kiliru
Phone: 828-771-3775 Email:
What role will they play? Student volunteer recruitment
Agency Name: United Plant Savers
Contact Name: Susan Leopold
Phone: 540-671-5176 Email:
What role will they play? technical support for at-risk plants
Agency Name: Warren Wilson College, Environmental Leadership Center
Contact Name: Stan Cross
Phone: 828-771-3782 Email:
What role will they play? Summer intern support
Agency Name:
Contact Name:
Phone: Email:
What role will they play?
Agency Name:
Contact Name:
Phone: Email:
What role will they play?
Agency Name:
Contact Name:
Phone: Email:
What role will they play?
(If additional space is needed to list community partners, please check here and list on a separate page.
Submit this additional page as an attachment with your emailed application)
Produce Partner(s): The agency, organization, homeless shelter, food pantry, food rescue organization, etc. that our garden will donate at least 10% of our produce to:
Name of Agency/Group: Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry
Contact Person: Renee Brames
Address: 101 N. Ridgeway Avenue
City: Black Mountain State: NC Zip: 28711
Email: Phone: 828-669-9404
Name of Agency/Group: Welcome Table
Contact Person: John DeWitt
Address: 424 West State Street
City: Black Mountain State: NC Zip: 28711
Email: Phone: 828-357-8081
Name of Agency/Group: MANNA FoodBank
Contact Person: Emily Paris
Address: 627 Swannanoa River Road
City: Asheville State: NC Zip: 28711
Email: Phone: 828-299-3663
Garden Team: Please list at least ten individuals who will have an active role in garden work and who make up the garden team; list their organizational affiliation if applicable and the role they will play.
1. Name: Diana McCall Organization (if applicable): Black Mtn Recreation and Parks
Their role: Community Garden Supervisor
2. Name: Carolyn Fryberger Organization (if applicable): Black Mtn Recreation and Parks
Their role: Community Garden administration
3. Name: Mike Mayer Organization (if applicable): Black Mtn Parks and Greenways Foundation
Their role: Community outreach and grant research
4. Name: Sarah Justice Organization (if applicable): Black Mountain Recreation and Parks
Their role: School Garden Coordinator - liaison with public schools in Black Mountain
5. Name: Patricia Allison Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Permaculture workshop leader
6. Name: Chuck Marsh Organization (if applicable): Useful Plants Nursery
Their role: Consultant, technical support
7. Name: Keri Evjy Organization (if applicable): Healing Roots Design
Their role: consultant, volunteer
8. Name: Ryan Sitler Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Permaculture site design
9. Name: Maggie Schlubach Organization (if applicable):
Their role: volunteer
10. Name: Suzanne Wodek Organization (if applicable): Buncombe County Master Gardenenrs
Their role: Master Gardener volunteer
Narrative: For questions with character limits, MS Word can provide you this information by using the Word Count function
Please provide a brief narrative of your community garden project and needs: Include strategy and evidence that your approach can be effective in achieving the goals of the Nourishing NC project. You can find the goals online at www.ncrpa.net/NourishingNC
Max of 2000 characters including spaces:
The Black Mountain Community garden is located on 1.2 acres of floodplain along the Swannanoa River in Black Mountain. Begun on private land by a citizen in 1994 the garden moved to its current location on Town-owned land in 2004. 75% of the garden land is seasonally rented to individuals for $35 per 400 sq ft plot to grow food for their families. Each of these individual gardeners is required to donate 10% of their harvest. The remaining 25% of the garden space is used to grow crops solely for donation utilizing volunteer labor. Through these two means of production the garden currently produces 3,200 pounds of fresh vegetables for donation per year. With the NNC grant, the Community Garden would expand its perrenial plantings. Currently all the produce donated from the garden consists of annual vegetable crops such as tomatoes, greens and sweet potatoes. The proposed orchard project would utilize sloped land within the garden that is not appropriate for annual garden beds. All of the produce from this orchard will be donated, thus increasing the overall production of donation crops, and diversifying the donation crops to include perennial fruits, nuts and berries. Having these crops available for donation would further diversify the diets of local food pantry clients. These are crops that are often cost prohibitive for families in need of food assistance, yet they are well-liked and guaranteed to be eaten even by young children. Additionally, the orchard location is bisected by a new greenway trail, slated for completion in summer 2011. Interpretive signage in the orchard will educate trail users on edible plantings that could be grown in their own backyards.
How do you plan to create a garden that will have a long and vibrant role in the community? Max of 2000 characters including spaces
The Black Mountain Community Garden was started in the 1994 by Dr. John Wilson at his home in Black Mountain. Since this time the garden has been taken on by Recreation and Parks beginning in 2007, has grown from involving 12 families to 65 families, and has moved from Dr. Wilson's private land to Town-owned property. The garden is now overseen largely by two permanent staff positions within Recereation and Parks: a part-time Garden Supervisor and a full-time Health Programs Administrator. The Community Garden is part of the Town's Masterplan and is in an ideal location on floodplain soil, neighboring a horse farm and bounded on one side by the Swannanoa River. The garden is downhill from an indoor soccer arena with a 6,600 gallon capacity rain barrel system which provides for the majority of the garden's water needs. Each year the community garden attracts hundreds of volunteers from churches, colleges and universities, schools and other community programs; their labor adds up to a total of 600 volunteer hours per year. The garden's solid infrastructure and volunteer base, Town staff support and broad community partnerships ensure that this garden will have a vibrant role in the Black Mountain community for years to come.