Little Growers, Inc

Mission

To empower our youth to be in control of their own future through community food security, sustainability, and leadership development.

Vision

Little Growers, Inc. is a youth-centered urban agriculture project that promotes community food security, sustainability, and serves as gateways to leadership development opportunities for at-risk youth in a positive, friendly, and productive atmosphere.

Our programs will improve nutrition and decrease the risk of food insecurity by teaching children lessons in where food comes from, the importance of eating fresh produce, as well as, how to grow food through fun hands on activities.

Little Growers, Inc seeks to build a localized green economy that provides green jobs and ownership opportunities to local residents that restore the environment, while investing  in building the health, wealth and resilience of communities most impacted by climate change.

Little Growers, Inc vision is to support a more resilient community whose residents are prepared to face the adverse effects of climate change. Residents of this low income community will gain a sense of community empowerment and self-determination such that they can provide for their own vital needs.

Organization Overview

The Little Growers, Inc. project was conceived by Rondy and Camille Hadley, community organizers who have multiple years of experience fighting food insecurity in underserved communities, such as Compton, California and their current home in Brevard County Florida. The project was influenced by Rondy and Camille’s desire to provide a healthier lifestyle for their four sons.

Upon returning to the Powell-Driskoll subdivision of Palm Bay, Florida Rondy and Camille quickly recognized how costly and difficult it was to access fresh organic food. Together they decided the best and most affordable solution was to begin growing food to feed their family. After discovering that they were living in a USDA designated food desert, as well as, getting many inquiries from neighborhood youth about what the Hadley’s were growing in their front yard, they decided to share their agricultural knowledge and experience with community youth leading to the founding of Little Growers, Inc.

Beginning at the onset of 2017, Little Growers, Inc planted its first youth garden at Lipscomb Street Park on the Melbourne side of the Powell-Driskoll subdivision, located in the northeast comer of the park. Little Growers, Inc. Lipscomb Street Park garden serves as an outdoor classroom where youth learn valuable skills, like those involving practical math, communication, responsibility and cooperation. Additionally, the garden provides the opportunity to learn about the importance of community, stewardship and environmental responsibility.

Little Growers Inc. also works on connecting residents to the resources and capacity they need to take individual and collective action to build their resiliency to local climate impacts, and to engage in adaptation decision-making to better prepare and protect their communities to weather these impacts.

Little Growers garden is situated within a low lying area of the city, which was once a wetland that absorbed nutrients from chronic flooding, near the Indian River. During heavy rains, the garden becomes water-logged and damages crops. Vegetables are easily susceptible to disease due to moisture and water-logging issues. Flooding from Hurricane Irma caused the loss of the majority of our crops, which resulted in the need to address chronic flooding in a way that will preserve the cultural heritage and identity of our historically black community.

Located within walking distance of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) the Little Growers, Inc. project is currently working to expand our garden to include green infrastructure that will promote STEM education amongst minority youth who disproportionately lack access to technological resources and currently represent no more than 6% of FIT’s student population. Our green infrastructure project will also support storm water mitigation, while preparing our community and its youth to be the leadership needed for a more resilient community.