Seeds that Grow Hope: HUD Seed Distribution Program

Briefing Statement:  Seeds that Grow Hope: HUD Seed Distribution Program

Organization: America the Beautiful Fund, Washington, DC

Issue: A proposal by America the Beautiful Fund to assist HUD in establishing a “National Seed Distribution Program” through a public/private partnership. Geographic Location: National 

Background: 

America the Beautiful Fund is a national non-profit organization started in response to Lady Bird and President Johnson’s White House Conference on Natural Beauty in 1965 to encourage volunteer citizen efforts to protect the natural and historic beauty of America.

Since 1980, America the Beautiful Fund’s Operation Green Plant program has been collecting millions of dollars worth of vegetable, flower and herb seed packets donated from the major American seed companies and distributing them to 20,000 community-based public and private organizations and groups in all 50 States.   The companies that have been donating seeds include: Burpee Seeds Company, Johnny’s Select Seed, Page Seed Company, Harris Seed/Garden Trends, Applewood Seed Company, Charles C. Hart Seed Company, Terra International, Livingston Seed Company, Thompson & Morgan, Crossman Seed Corporation, Lake Valley Seed Company and Seminis Vegetable Seeds.  During this period these seeds have been distributed to 10,000,000 volunteers and community groups in all 50 states to grow food for hungry people, teach best nutrition practices and promote environmental stewardship.

Operation Green Plant has:

* Saved more than 800 tons of seed and 7 million flower bulbs from going to waste in landfills

* Distributed enough vegetable seed to grow 1.75 billion pounds of fresh produce for food insecure Americans

* Distributed 650,000 pounds of flower seed and 7 million flower bulbs to care for roadways, public lands and neighborhoods across America

* Provided over 30,000 pounds of seeds to people adversely impacted by Gulf Coast Hurricanes, Iowa floods and West Coast wildfires.

America the Beautiful Fund is the only organization in America that collects and distributes $4,000,000 worth of free seeds annually.  The Fund is totally supported by private donations and has an overhead of less than 5%.  With a modest  federal grant annually, America the Beautiful Fund could expand this program to serve all of the HUD low income housing projects in cooperation with the HUD field offices.

Partners:

America the Beautiful Fund has partnered with many Housing Authorities to plant gardens in low income housing areas.  America the Beautiful Fund received awards from the New York City Housing Authority and Los Angeles City Council for our work with their projects and has also helped nourish and beautify low income housing in Chicago, Miami, New Orleans, Oakland, Camden, Trenton, Newark, Boston, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Phoenix, San Francisco and many other cities throughout America and worked with housing organizations including, Neighborhood Housing Services, Habitat for Humanity, the Washington Council of Governments, the Interfaith Housing Authority, National Collaboration for Homeless Veterans, the National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness, the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the National American Indian Housing and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Contact:

Primary: Nanine Bilski, President, America the Beautiful Fund (202) 638-1649  

Secondary: Glenn Eugster (703) 489-4207