Global Food Crisis Fund provides grant to Bittersweet Ministries, gives grant to extend Going to Garden

The Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) of the Church of the Brethren has given a grant of $10,000 to support a ministry in Mexico, sponsored by Bittersweet Ministries. Also, the fund has given a second grant of $30,000 to Going to the Garden, in a cooperative effort with the denomination’s Office of Public Witness.

Bittersweet Ministries

An allocation of $10,000 has been given to support a ministry in Tijuana, Mexico, sponsored by Bittersweet Ministries. This one-time grant will support Two Machines, a sewing cooperative in the process of becoming registered as a 501c3. Two Machines’ community development approach includes participation of co-op members in planning and running their own business. Funds will be sent through Bittersweet Ministries and its board of directors, for use specifically for 501c3 filing fees and for wages, rent, and materials for operations through December 2014.

Photo courtesy of
Mountain View Church of the Brethren
in Boise, ID

Going to the Garden

A $30,000 grant extends the Going to the Garden project in cooperation with the denomination’s Office of Public Witness. “Going to the Garden: A Community Food Security and Nutrition Initiative” is intended to facilitate the formation or expansion of congregationally based community gardens and other garden based efforts to concretely address food insecurity, environmental degradation, and poverty in the US.

Attached to the grant request was the following listing of community gardens that are receiving support, each receiving a “mini grant” of $1,000. Four congregations have received two mini grants in two separate calendar years. The initial GFCF allocation of $30,000 that started Going to the Garden was made in the fall of 2012.

For more about Going to the Garden and to view a new video on this project, go to www.brethren.org/gfcf.

Capstone Community Gardens and Orchard, New Orleans, La.
First Church of the Brethren, Harrisonburg, Va.
Meadow Branch Church of the Brethren, Westminster, Md.
Anawim Christian Community (Mennonite), Gresham, Ore.
Nampa (Idaho) Church of the Brethren
Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Mount Morris (Ill.) Church of the Brethren
Mountain View Church of the Brethren, Boise, Idaho
I Care Inc., Topeka, Kan.
Living Faith Church of the Brethren, Concord, N.C.
Peace and Carrots Community Garden, La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren
Champaign (Ill.) Church of the Brethren
Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren
Brethren Hillcrest Homes, La Verne, Calif.
CrossPoint Community Church, Whitewater, Wis.
Heart of the Rockies Christian Church, Fort Collins, Colo.
Falffurrias (Texas) Church of the Brethren
Mount Wilson (Pa.) Church of the Brethren
Gracebridge Church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tenn.
West Charleston Church of the Brethren, Tipp City, Ohio
Hempfield Church of the Brethren, Manheim, Pa.
First Church of the Brethren, Wichita. Kan.
Akron (Ohio) Eastwood Church of the Brethren
Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren, Decatur, Ind., for a garden project in Arctic Circle, Alaska

Source: 6/17/2014 Newsline