Backyard Growers

Backyard Growers’ (BYG) mission is to cultivate healthy, connected, environmentally sustainable communities and to fight for food justice by teaching people how to grow some of their own food. We provide resources and support to establish vegetable gardens at homes, housing communities, organizations, and schools, and offer learning opportunities in growing and preparing fresh produce. BYG serves low- to moderate-income residents and public school children in Gloucester, and shares our scalable and reproducible school program models regionally through a consulting practice to increase our impact. Our goals are to increase access to healthy, affordable foods, help support attitude and behavior changes in making healthy food choices, reactivate neglected urban spaces through food production, and to build community and self-sufficiency within diverse populations. We believe that by growing some of our own food, we are empowered, connected, and strengthened.