Programs We Support/Civic Involvement
Organic Soil Amendment sold by SJGC & provided by Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen – $5.00 for a 3 lb. sack
If you are interested in purchasing more of our SJGC Soil Amendment supplied by Loaves & Fishes Kitchen Garden, email aureliag@me.com. Each 3 lb. bag is $5.00.
Harp Renewables is a global innovator in bio-digesters and the aerobic digester L &F acquired can digest 5,000 liters of organic waste per week. It converts the organic waste into compost in an incredible short 24 hours. The soil-enhancing compost will be provided to local agricultural producers and community gardeners free of charge. Last month L&F became the first nonprofit in the US to acquire and put into service this machine and achieve zero food waste!
Directions:
Use it in pots or work it into your planting beds. It is highly potent and should be used with this ratio:
Application:
One part soil amendment – Eight parts regular soil Bio Fertilizer Features & Benefits:
Low toxicity • Pathogen-free. • High soil stability. • High N/P/K content
No odors or rancidity. • Sustained nitrogen release. • High macro/micro-nutrients High organic matter 80%+ and carbon content 50%+
Lower GHG emissions than synthetic fertilizers, manure, or compost
Harp Renewables https://www.harprenewables.com/soil-product-enhancer/ Loaves and fishes
Proceeds from the sale of the soil amendment are donated by the SJGC to other garden related non-profits.
Fiscal Donations are given to these organizations:
Christmas in the Park 2012 – 2023 – https://www.christmasinthepark.com
We purchase a tree for the club to decorate and display at Christmas in the Park, an annual San Jose holiday tradition that transforms the Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park into a holiday fantasy.
Guadalupe River Conservancy – https://www.grpg.org
We adopted Rose Bastei N-12-20 in the Guadalupe River Park. This pays for the maintenance.
La Mesa Verde Home Garden Project https://sacredheartcs.org/programs/food-clothing/
San Jose Mercury article 8/25/2018
Sacred Heart Community Service Newsletter 3/21/2019
This San Jose urban gardening project sponsored by Sacred Heart Community Service assists low-income, working poor, and the long-term unemployed residents of San Jose to grow organic vegetables in their backyards. We also donate used garden tools, hoses, and garden pots.
Loaves and Fishes Kitchen Garden – loavesfishes.org
Organic Farm: (Volunteer Opportunities coming this summer)
Our farm grows food for all of our kitchens. The fresh vegetables we grow are used in salads, soups, and main dishes, and they supplement the produce donated by our partners.Our goal has always been to provide free, hot, nutritious, and well-balanced meals to hungry individuals. Part of that balance includes fruits and vegetables. Over the years, we’ve found that donated produce can become inedible if it’s past its “sell date.” But the produce from our farm provides our kitchen staff with a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs. This is just one way we have innovated our efforts to feed the need because we know the need to feed the hungry in our Bay Area community is great and growing.
For information regarding volunteer days & hours contact David Romeri @ 408-593-4345.
Address: 1080 North 7th Street, San Jose, CA 95112
Directions: Turn in at the two flag poles, drive all the way to the back, turn right and drive all the way to the end to find the garden.
Merdedith’s Corner – Schallenberger Elementary School (2018)
Our City Forest – http://www.ourcityforest.org
This Silicon Valley non-profit provides trees for home parking strips, front and back yards and teaches schools and communities what they need to know about growing and caring for an urban forest.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley – https://www.shfb.org
Members donate at the annual club Holiday luncheon. In 2023, members donated over $1976.25.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County – https://www.thefoodbank.org
Sempervirens Fund – https://sempervirens.org
This non-profit is dedicated to the preservation and conservation of redwood trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Our club dedicated a redwood tree in Big Basin.
Veggielution Community Farm – http://veggielution.org
This San Jose non-profit supplies fresh and affordable produce to families that need it most in the South Bay. Its urban farm engages the community by providing access to healthy local food, creating youth leadership opportunities, and developing creative solutions to social and environmental justice issues. 
Penny Pines, Stanislaus National Forest
http://gardenclub.org/projects/penny-pines.aspx
The National Garden Club and USDA Forest Service partner to sustain our national forests through the Penny Pines Restoration Program. We collect loose change at our meeting to help plant replacement trees in a particular damaged area. Cumulatively,
our club has donated over $2,500 to reforest the Stanisluas National Forest in California. A $68 donation supports on acre (a plantation) consisting of approximately 350 trees.
Penny Pines, Plumas National Forest
This is a special donation to help replant after the Camp Fire of 2018.
Redwood Parks Conservancy
https://redwoodparksconservancy.org
We are helping The Grove of the Titans Project, in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, build an elevated walkway and viewing platform to protect the Grove from further damage to the shallow root system of the redwoods, alleviate damage to understory plants and forest floor vegetation and to reduce soil compaction.
Our vision is a more productive and sustainable community where low income families can enjoy a healthier lifestyle through daily access to fresh, affordable organic vegetables.
To achieve this, our mission is to promote the widespread cultivation of organic home vegetable gardens, in order to encourage healthier eating and address food insecurity—that is, the state of being without reliable access to food that is healthy and affordable—in Santa Clara Valley.
Civic Involvement Programs supported by individual members in the Club’s name
• Lean Calero Rose Project – Members maintain the 140 roses along Lean Avenue as a help to the City of San Jose.
• La Mesa Verde – https://www.lamesaverdeshcs.org/
• Loaves and Fishes Kitchen Garden – loavesfishes.org
• Village Harvest – https://www.villageharvest.org
Chico and Paradise, California – Members donated money & books to refurbish school libraries lost in the Camp Fire in 2018.
FAST-NC – Florence Aid to Students and Teachers of North Carolina: an established non-profit set up to help schools with recovery efforts after Hurricane Florence. Members donated upward of 70 – 100 books. N.C. Thanks
Homeless Programs – Donations – Members donate small toiletries, adult diapers, sanitary products & bras which are gathered and donated throughout the year.
San Jose Juvenile Hall Garden – Members helped to organize, create & maintain a garden used by the inmates.
Santa Clara County Dept of Family & Children’s Services, Receiving, Assessment and Intake Center Members donated 64 new stuffed animals at the annual Holiday Luncheon in 2023.
