On the wings of Campbell Soup’s Ten-Year Plan To Reduce Childhood Obesity and Hunger... Campbell partner, the Camden City Garden Club and Camden Children’s Garden, has inspiredhealth through gardening in Camden for 27 years! For creating 60 new food gardens in only 2 years, they were referred to by the University of Pennsylvania’s study, “Camden, NJ has perhaps the fastest growing community gardens in the country”. The Camden City Garden Club’s Leader Mike Devlin recently won the GARDENER’S SUPPLY CO’s NATIONAL GARDEN CRUSADER AWARD!
Read more about the Camden City Garden Club's successes: https://origin.library.constantcontact.com/doc208/1103337379926/doc/Wqn82ovscnW0iAZg.pdf
As they say, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day…
...teach Camden to garden and you feed them for Life.”
- Our 2011 goal is to start 40 new community gardens throughout the city, starting in March. (GREAT VISUALS—Before/After)
- For 27 years of dedication to Camden families, Executive Director Mike Devlin was awarded the 2011 National Grand Prize Garden Crusader Award by the renowned Gardener's Supply Company. LINK: http://www.camdenchildrensgarden.org/press/MikeDevlinGardenCrusadersAward.pdf
- The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Public Health Initiatives (CPHI) funded a research study of Camden’s community gardens, measuring the amount of food produced and distribution methods to people in communities throughout Camden, a “food desert”. PRESS RELEASE LINK: http://www.camdenchildrensgarden.org/press/FINAL%20- %20The_University_of_Penn_Releases_Study_the_Camden_City_Garden_Club_is_Fighting_Hunger_in_Camden,_NJ.pdf
- The Community Gardening Program’s was referred to by the University of Pennsylvania’s study, “Camden, NJ has perhaps the fastest growing community gardens in the country” as the gardeners studied grew more than 30,000 pounds of food in 2009 – that’s 139,000 servings of fresh produce. STUDY LINK: http://www.camdenchildrensgarden.org/Community%20Gardening%20Harvest%20Report.pdf
- Gardening has been a viable resource for fresh, inexpensive, healthy food in a Camden, a plighted, urban “food desert” and a city that has roughly 12,000 abandoned lots, about 4,000 of which are city–owned.
- In 2009, CCGC initiated the creation of the Camden City Food Security Council, led by the City, leads efforts to provide Camden residents with better access to fresh and healthy food.
- In 2011, the Mike Devlin won the Camden City Mayor’s Youth Council Award for 17 years of employing at-risk Camden youth in the CCGC’s community programs, assisting families in growing their own food and for his efforts for 22 year teaching young children about nutrition and science through the Camden classroom GrowLab Program.
SOS: On the heels of awarding Mike Devlin an honorable mention as a "NJ Hero", the New Jersey Governor cut the Camden Children's budget 100% and retroactively without notice – almost paralyzing this waterfront tourist attraction’s operations. See the recent Philadelphia Inquirer article about the Camden Children’s Garden Funding.
Download an Information Sheet about the Programs of the Camden City Garden Club, Inc.
PRESS CONTACT:
Tracy Tomchik
Public Relations, Events and Fundraising Consultant
Camden Children's Garden
856-365-TREE (8733)
