Yes To Carrots partners with organizations to develop community gardening program

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. Yes To Carrots, a company that creates organic, paraben-free skin and hair care products, recently announced the launch of a non-profit organization called Yes To Carrots Seed Fund. The organization joins partner organizations to encourage individuals to start garden projects within their community and provides them with the necessary equipment, seeds and related supplies.

Created by Ido Leffler, chief executive officer of Yes To Carrots, the program allows low-income individuals in various locations to learn gardening, acquire social and business skills and transform poor areas into beautiful gardens. The Seed Fund teamed with Chicago-based Growing Home, Inc., a social enterprise business based on organic agriculture, to develop a program where community members plant and harvest gardens and sell the produce at local markets, thus providing them with vital experience necessary to reenter the job market.

Three gardens have been created in Columbus, Ohio, through a partnership with three different organizations. The Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio joined The Seed Fund in creating a garden that uses its produce for medicinal and ceremonial purposes in weekly alcohol and tobacco cessation programs. The Horn of Africa Community Center joined The Seed Fund to provide a large Somali refugee population in Columbus with a garden that allows them to farm as they once did in Somalia. The Fifth Avenue Community Housing Network joined The Seed Fund to give women with physical and mental disabilities an opportunity to gain responsibilities and social and business experience.