Lots to Gardens

About Lots to Gardens

Lots to Gardens is a youth and community driven organization that uses sustainable urban agriculture to create access to fresh food, and to nurture healthy youth and a healthy community. We teach people how to grow their own food, provide affordable access to fresh food, and involve youth as leaders. We help families and youth develop skills and build power for lifelong and community-wide change. Since 1999, we have built fifteen gardens and greenspaces in four diverse neighborhoods in Lewiston, Maine. We are sponsored by Sisters of Charity Health System. Our community food projects include apartment-side and community gardens with more than sixty families and senior citizens; neighborhood veggie stands that provide affordable organic produce; weekly community meals and garden events; cooking and nutrition classes; and activities at the Lewiston Farmers' Market. Each year, we grow and distribute thousands of pounds of organic food throughout the city. Through Lots to Gardens' gardening and nutrition programs, hundreds of families and elders have grown their own food, learned to value fresh and local produce, and learned to prepare nutritious meals. Through our youth training programs, sixty youth have given a summer of service to others; received job training, and participated in empowering themselves and their community. Hundreds of other youth and adults participate in the gardens as volunteers, learners, and leaders.