Urban Harvest

Urban Harvest's Food Access Program makes fresh, healthy food the easy, affordable choice for all through Double Up Houston and the Mobile Farmers Market. In 2019, Urban Harvest launched Double Up Houston, a SNAP incentive program that operates at 5 area farmers' markets, farm stands, and 13 Mobile Market sites. Food insecure families and individuals can use their SNAP benefits to purchase fresh, local foods at participating markets and farm stands and receive an additional $40 match in Double Up Food Bucks to use on fruits and vegetables. Urban Harvest's Mobile Market partners with clinics, churches, schools, housing organizations, community centers, and other community-based sites to offer farm-fresh produce in underserved communities. See Schedule O for additional details.Additionally, we launched the Northeast Community Farmers Market in 2019 with community members and still include this as a Mobile Market site that serves a long-standing food desert with nutritious options and a place for the community to gather.

Urban Harvest Farmers Market Program provides Houstonians with year-round access to local, healthy food and the opportunity to meet and know their farmers. In 2023, the Saturday Farmers Market encouraged a vibrant, sustainable, and community-based food system and provided a venue for approximately 100 local farmers, ranchers, and food producers to enhance their economic opportunity by having a year-round, low-cost platform to support their businesses and aid in job creation for the regional economy. The Farmers Market also provided a community space for over 45,000 residents to gather and purchase nutritious food while spending time outdoors with their neighbors and local farmers.

The Urban Harvest Youth Education Program transforms school gardens into outdoor classrooms through weekly hands-on lessons for children and through the Edible Academy, a series of workshops to train educators on integrating their curriculum with school gardens. In 2023, Urban Harvest trained 39 educators, who will reach an estimated 5,000 students and teachers with their gardening knowledge. Additionally, we hosted weekly education at 6 schools and taught students how to grow, harvest, and prepare an average of 16 crops. On average, 90% of these schools are Title 1 schools and serve an average of 95% economically disadvantaged students and families. See Schedule O for additional details.In 2023, Urban Harvest offered over 90 garden classes unique to the Houston area that focus on growing fruits and vegetables organically and living sustainably. The knowledgeable instructors provide classroom and hands-on experiences to support a vibrant, local food system.

Urban Harvest's Permaculture Certification Program hosts specialized classes and series to help participants earn their 100-hour Permaculture Design Certification (PDC). Permaculture is "permanent culture," a way of beingsustainable and regenerative by designing solutions with food, energy, nature, and community in mind. PDC graduates are instrumental in conducting sustainability projects across Greater Houston and Urban Harvest's Community Gardens, Youth Education, and Farmers Market programs. In the past two decades of teaching this certification, Urban Harvest continues to make this an affordable and equitable program; with available scholarships, work-study opportunities, flexible completion, and volunteering, we strive to make PDC accessible for all.

Urban Harvest was founded on the idea that community gardens are critical in fighting hunger, creating a sense of community, and improving nutritional choices that increase health and wellness. Urban Harvest supports more than 150 affiliate gardens by distributing seasonal garden materials (plant starts, fertilizer, and fruit trees for free), maintaining a year-round seed bank for all gardens, offering free educational opportunities, and providing volunteer referrals, workdays, and other community-based support.