Green Village Initiative is a non-profit in Bridgeport, Connecticut whose mission is to grow food, knowledge, leadership and community, through urban gardening and farming, to create a more just food system in Bridgeport. Green Village Initiative is composed of four programs: Reservoir Community Farm, School Gardens, Community Gardens, and our Youth Leadership Program. Reservoir Community Farm is Bridgeport’s only urban farm. The farm team grows and sells thousands of pounds of affordable produce each year for the community. The Farm also serves as a setting for educational school field trips, the site for the Youth Leadership Program, and a knowledge resource hub for Bridgeport’s network of about 40 school and community gardens. Students and teachers grow food in over 24 school gardens throughout Bridgeport. Through a partnership with Sacred Heart University, Green Village Initiative has launched a series of school garden lesson plans that tie directly to Bridgeport’s curriculum, allowing teachers to use their school garden as an academic tool. Over 400 students visit Reservoir Community Farm each year for experiential learning field trips where they learn skills that they bring back to their school gardens. Green Village Initiative manages 13 Community Gardens that nourish the Bridgeport community; community gardens provide more than 100 gardeners with space to grow pesticide-free, fresh vegetables for their families’ tables. These gardens are a primary source of fresh food in many neighborhoods. Green Village Initiative supports Bridgeport’s growers through hands-on workshops, growing guides and crop plans, seeds and seedlings, soil, and other resources. The Youth Leadership Program cultivates young leaders of community change through a summer program in agriculture, job-readiness, food justice, and organizing. Skill-building workshops include community organizing, advocacy, youth identities and voices, and food systems. The program’s Food Leader Advisory Group is made up of currently enrolled youth and recent program graduates who direct the Green Village Initiative team towards creating the most valuable summer experience possible for youth in Bridgeport.

Good Food Org Guide

Presented By Food Tank & The James Beard Foundation

Green Village Initiative

Green Village Initiative

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