Richmond, Virginia (June 26 , 2022) – To give back to the community and provide fresh local produce, Concerned Citizens of Charles City County are awarded a $1,000 Green Grant to grow a community garden, as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 12th Annual Green Grants Program.
Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.
“Green grants provide financial resources needed to implement innovative and effective projects that will result in more clean, green, and beautiful places to live, work, and play. These initiatives bring people together, in partnership, to make positive differences in communities across Virginia,” says Cristi Lawton, Keep Virginia Beautiful’s Executive Director.
Concerned Citizens of Charles City County (C5) desires to give back to the community and restore historic Barnetts Elementary School by converting it into a training and community center with a community garden. Charles City is a food desert, without a grocery store or a food pantry. The community garden will provide fresh, free local produce to residents in need. C5 members are creating a volunteer network to water, plant, and harvest the vegetable crops and flowers. Local churches have expressed interest in addition to many neighbors along Barnetts Road.
Food harvested from the garden will also be used in cooking demonstrations by a local chef. Many people within any community do not understand the cycle of food production and how it impacts their community.
Grant funds will be used to purchase garden tools, hosing, posters to inform the community about volunteering opportunities and food availability, and a storage shed to house tools and materials for the garden in the initial half-acre garden.
C5 estimates that local volunteers will participate, as well as students from Virginia State University who have selected the community garden to satisfy the minimum number of volunteer hours as a directive of their program.
More about Keep Virginia Beautiful
The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve the natural and scenic environment. Since 2011, the Green Grants Program has provided $254,500 for 355 programs and projects throughout the state. Funding is made possible through generous support from Altria, as well as additional sponsorships from WestRock and Village Bank.