Goals

GOALS of A FEW SQUARE FEET

  • Provide regular workshops in WNC about Square Foot Gardening to increase the number of folks using this method

there will be several workshops advertised and promoted in the region each year, and we are open to working with garden clubs, schools, civic groups and other organizations who want to know more about Square Foot Gardening method and utilize the method within their communities

  • Promote Square Foot Gardening as an effective and sustainable method for families to provide more of their own food and nutrition

through the website, news articles, public forums and regional media, we will extend the message of Square Foot Gardening to Western North Carolina, offering knowledge, resources, and tools for expanding the food network of the region

Consider this…two 4′ x 4′ boxes is 32 square feet. If they were planted intensively for just six months of the year they could save a family over $300 dollars on their food bill. Plus, they would be getting more nutritious and fresh food from just outside their back door.

  • Promote Square Foot Gardening within the region as way to provide more local and affordable food

by collaborating with a wide range of groups concerned about the issue, A Few Square Feet is dedicated to making food more local and affordable throughout the region.  Currently, 95% of Haywood County’s food (a $50 million dollar industry) comes from outside of the county with an average of over 1200 miles. Just a few square feet tended by the county’s citizens could make a significant difference.

Think about this…it doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up.  Every square foot dedicated to growing vegetables in a SFG can provide $10 dollars or more of fresh produce. A family of four with 4- 4′ x 4′ boxes (64 square feet) comes to over $600 of savings. One hundred families joining together to do the same thing is $60,000 dollars in savings. There are over 15,000 families in Haywood County.  What if 10% decided to dedicate 64 square feet to gardening?  That would add up to close to a $1 million dollar impact.

  • Collaborate with organizations who provide food for the hungry and needy of our communities to adapt Square Foot Gardening to assist in their efforts

One of the best ways to provide solid nutrition to people is for them to grow their own.  A few square feet in the yard can provide a number of easily prepared vegetables that are more nutritious and healthy than anything from a can. Each square foot can provide $10 or more dollars of fresh produce each year.  Soup kitchens and food pantries could benefit from a group of concerned citizens sharing from a few square feet of their own garden.  How can we collaborate to improve the lives of those in our community?)

Imagine…if 100 families in our community donated the produce from just four square feet of their own Square Foot Garden to soup kitchens/food pantries.  That would be $4000 dollars of produce.  Think, if we could dedicate the equivalent of just one acre of community garden (that is only 8,000 square feet in SFG terms), we could provide $80,000 dollars of fresh produce per year to folks in need.