Smile Haven

Urban agriculture, community gardens, and co-housing communities aren’t new, but establishing and planning an Agrihood while actively seeking the input of community residents, elders, and leaders is innovative as we seek to minimize the devastating effects of food deserts and food insecurity within the neighborhoods we service and love. This is a community preservation grassroots movement.

This is our most ambitious program. It is imperative that everyone understands what the terms Agrihood and food deserts mean.

Agrihood
ag·ri·hood
/ˈaɡrə,ho͝od/
is a mashup of the words “agriculture” and “neighborhood”.
integrates agriculture into a neighborhood.

YOU can:

1. Sponsor a Smile Haven agrihood program
2. Donate monthly to the Smile Haven agrihood program
3. One-time donation
4. Volunteer at your local Smile Haven program

Food deserts are regions where residents have no or limited access to healthy and affordable food options…especially fruits and vegetables. According to a John Hopkins study ​​that compared sim­i­lar pover­ty lev­els and found that, in urban areas, Black com­mu­ni­ties had the fewest super­mar­kets, white com­mu­ni­ties had the most, and mul­tira­cial com­mu­ni­ties fell in the mid­dle of the super­mar­ket count spectrum.

There are a variety of factors which may include some of the following:

• Access to food, as mea­sured by dis­tance to a store or by the num­ber of stores in an area.
• House­hold resources, includ­ing fam­i­ly income or vehi­cle availability.
• Neigh­bor­hood resources, such as the aver­age income of the neigh­bor­hood and the avail­abil­i­ty of pub­lic transportation.

• Provides fresh & healthy food options within food deserts
• Raises the sense of community
• Promotes sustainable living
• Preserves natural habitats
• Adds value to the community
• Offers the opportunity to facilitate other community projects

1. Wellness clinics
2. Youth farming and engagement programs
3. Nutrition & cooking education programs
4. Food co-ops

Through the identification of food deserts we’ve begun planning to repurpose land and integrate agriculture within our neighborhoods and urban spaces.

The creation of a living space that facilitates harmony with things that grow, which gives us the opportunity to provide sustainable, healthy eating options while fostering a sense of community and belonging.