LIVELaunching GrowGoods Social Enterprise Business
GrowGood, Inc., a non-profit organization, has worked since 2011 in partnership with the Salvation Army's Bell Homeless Shelter to transform the 1.5-acre parcel of fallow land adjacent to the Shelter into a small farm. With $100,000, GrowGood will launch its UCLA award-winning social enterprise business plan to build a greenhouse on-site to grow and sell produce year-round to LA’s finest restaurants. The social enterprise business will employ Shelter residents, many of whom are veterans.
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
The Salvation Army's Bell Shelter in Bell, CA; LA County
How do you plan to use these resources to make change?
Engage residents and stakeholders
Implement a pilot or new project
How will your proposal improve the following LIVE metrics?
Access to healthy food
Obesity rates
Rates of homelessness
Please explain how you will evaluate your work.
GrowGood will evaluate the program through resident surveys, feedback from key stakeholders (i.e. Shelter staff, especially case managers), and documenting whether resident employees are successfully leveraging their experience with GrowGood to gain full-time employment after their time in the Shelter. Moreover, documenting volunteer hours - additional hours a resident spends at the farm beyond what is required - can also be helpful in determining “success.”
How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed
Money (financial capital)
Volunteers/staff (human capital)
Publicity/awareness (social capital)
Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles, etc.)
Education/training
Technical infrastructure (computers, etc.)
Community outreach