In 2022, Big Green, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting food literacy and health equity through school and home gardens, launched a place-based funding and program deployment effort in partnership with Live Healthy Miami Gardens (LHMG). This collaboration formed the basis for Project Grow, an initiative aimed at addressing local food insecurity and enhancing community-led agricultural education in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Live Healthy Miami Gardens is a broad coalition composed of 46 organizational members and over 100 individuals. The coalition’s mission centers on improving the health, wellbeing, and life expectancy of residents within Miami Gardens, a predominantly African American community that faces significant health disparities and economic challenges. Community listening sessions and data from LHMG’s planning processes revealed a strong local interest in acquiring the knowledge and resources necessary to grow food at home. Residents expressed a desire for more opportunities to access fresh, affordable produce and to gain skills in gardening and healthy eating.
Responding to this expressed community need, Big Green deployed resources through its Million Gardens initiative. The Million Gardens program is designed to equip individuals and families with physical garden infrastructure—such as raised beds, soil, seeds, and tools—along with access to a curated curriculum that covers foundational gardening knowledge and nutrition education. Importantly, the program also offers ongoing support through educational programming, workshops, and digital resources tailored to the community context.
Under Project Grow, Big Green and LHMG have collaborated to distribute home garden kits to Miami Gardens residents while simultaneously hosting educational sessions to promote sustainable food-growing practices.
