Sacramento Cooperative Community Fund grant creates garden for people with developmental disabilities
A new garden at UCP of Sacramento and Northern California's adult day program will help people with developmental disabilities learn how to grow food and make nutritious meals.
- Sacramento, CA (1888PressRelease) June 30, 2011 - When UCP of Sacramento and Northern California staff first envisioned a garden where people with developmental disabilities could learn to grow their own food, they pictured a 6'x6' plot. When the group's adult day program moved to the former Aero Haven Elementary School campus in North Highlands, the dream expanded. Thanks to a grant from the Sacramento Cooperative Community Fund, UCP will create a community garden where people with developmental disabilities can watch flowers and vegetables grow, dig their hands into dirt, learn how to grow food and learn how to create nutritious meals to share.
"Gardening is a hobby we tend to take for granted, but many people with developmental disabilities have never had the chance to feel soil in their hands, much less learn about the farm-to-table concept of growing food to create healthy meals," said Doug Bergman, UCP president and CEO.
UCP, which empowers people with developmental disabilities to live life without limits, is in the process of creating the garden, including building raised beds that will accommodate wheelchairs sliding under them. The Sacramento Cooperative Community Fund grant provided all of the garden tools, potted vegetables, seeds and more. UCP anticipates 119 people with developmental disabilities will help create the garden, plant, harvest and prepare meals.
Each month, UCP of Sacramento and Northern California serves 2,600 children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families in Butte, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Shasta, Sutter and Yolo counties. Programs include Saddle Pals adaptive horseback riding, UCP's Autism Center for Excellence at Sacramento State, adult day programs, independent living services, transportation and in-home respite care for families. For more information, visit www.ucpsacto.org.
The Sacramento Cooperative Community Fund is the giving arm of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op. For more than 30 years, the co-op has continued its tradition of consumer advocacy, education, community outreach and support in the greater Sacramento area. Through programs, projects and activities developed by dedicated staff and co-op owners, the co-op serves the greater Sacramento community by providing services to consumers in the store (such as food tasting fairs, product demos and consumer literature), offering classes, seminars and special events at the Co-op Community Learning Center, participating in community events and making donations to local nonprofits. For more information, visit www.sacfoodcoop.com.
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