Dear Kitchen Gardener,
Have you ever given yourself a
standing ovation? By this, I don't mean quietly clapping for yourself
somewhere off in a dark corner. I mean getting up out of your seat,
stretching a bit (to avoid injury) and applauding with the same passion
and gusto as the Italians did in 2006 when their team won the World
Cup.
Admittedly, it's not the most modest
thing to do and if other people happen to be in the room it could seem a
bit odd (hint: you could always say that you were applauding them).
But we need to celebrate ourselves and our accomplishments every once in
a while and, with 2009 coming to end, now is one of those times.
You might be saying to yourself "Ok,
I'm game, but what did I do to deserve this recognition?" I
suspect you did many good deeds, more things than you can probably
recall, but the one thing I know you did is to take part in something
larger than yourself: the growing home-grown movement. For some of
you, your deed was planting and tending your own garden which is already
a heroic act in our busy, fast-food times. For others, it was
helping someone else plant his or her first garden, whether a neighbor, a school, or
some other group in need. If you managed to do a bit of
both, you're a true star and deserve not only a standing ovation, but
bouquets of home-grown flowers strewn at your feet.
And for many of you, more than ever
before, one of your good gardening deeds was to be involved in some way
in KGI's work this past year. It might not have seemed like much
at the time: a $10 donation here, signing a petition there, forwarding a
link to a friend, posting something on your blog or social network
profile, helping someone solve a gardening problem online. But
when enough people get together to do the same small things, those
seemingly inconsequential acts can add up to become powerful, world-changing
forces.
As you'll see from the timetable of the year's highlights below
(including a few personal highlights from my work and my garden), it was quite a year for kitchen gardens and KGI. I want
to thank you for being part of our work this past year and making these
accomplishments possible.
I'm really excited about the 2010
gardening year and want to invite you to play a more active role in KGI
this coming year. I'll be back in touch in the New Year with some
new ideas about how you might get involved.
In the meanwhile, I wish you much
holiday cheer, including the hearty one you give yourself!
Roger Doiron
KGI founding director
PS: If you're looking to make a
tax-deductible donation before the end of 2009, we would greatly
appreciate your support. We're working hard to secure our
operating budget for next year and every bit helps. You can
donate securely online here or
via check
here. If, by chance, you are interested making some other type
of gift to KGI (securities, bequest, frequent flyer miles, etc.),
please let me know. Many thanks.
| January |
KGI begins New Year
with 12,000 people from over 100 countries in its network. |
 |
| |
KGI’s Eat the View
White House garden campaign featured in the
Washington Post and
Wall Street Journal. |
 |
| |
Eat the View wins Grand Prize in the United Nation’s
Foundation’s “On Day One” contest as the most popular
proposal for the new president and first family, beating out
over 4000 other entries. With the help
of the UN Foundation, thousands of e-mails are sent to the White
House in support of the idea.
KGI and the
UN Foundation also partner in their media outreach in support of
the idea. |
 |
| |
Belgian endives,
forced from roots! |
 |
| February |
White House garden
petition posted on Facebook and other places attracts over
100,000 signatures. KGI establishes contact with senior staffers
in the White House to advocate for the idea. |
 |
| March |
KGI publishes
results of “How
Much is a Home Garden Worth?” article and statistics,
attracting significant interest in the printed press and
blogosphere. |
 |
| |
First Lady Michelle
Obama breaks ground on the First Garden. The garden and KGI’s
role in it attract massive international press coverage in
outlets such as the
Los Angeles Times,
BBC,
and
Boston Globe. |
 |
| April |
Eat the View
campaign recognized at
“Heart of
Green” awards in New York City. |
 |
| May |
Spring salads,
asparagus, and wild-picked fiddleheads! |
 |
| June |
KGI begins new
mini-campaign to rebrand July 4th as “Food Independence Day,” a
national celebration of local foods and food self-reliance. |
 |
| |
Queen Elizabeth II announces that she, too, will "eat the view"
and instructs her gardeners to replant an allotment garden at
Buckingham Palace. |
 |
| |
Strawberries! |
 |
| July |
Food Independence
Day receives coverage in the
Washington Post,
Associated Press
and many other media outlets and secures the participation of
nine first families and thousands of other families who pledge
to source some of their July 4th meal ingredients locally.
First Lady Karen Baldacci of Maine issues a press release in
support of the campaign. |
 |
| |
Garlic! |
 |
| August |
Kitchen
Garden Day is celebrated by people and groups around the world. |
 |
| |
KGI's partnership
with the Organic Agriculture Centre of Kenya helps provide
training to hundreds of gardeners and digs several new school
gardens and home gardens at a time when Kenya is experiencing
drought and worrisome levels of food insecurity. |
 |
| September |
KGI's Roger Doiron
tours the White House kitchen garden
and hand- delivers KGI's White House garden petition signatures in the
form of a “Thank You” book for the First Lady and Chef Sam Kass.
He requests that 500-page, 4-column, 8 pt font tome be
ceremonially tossed onto the White House compost pile. |
 |
| |
More happy harvests! |
 |
| |
KGI's first global get-together in France expertly and
deliciously organized by Ian Holden and Kate Flint. |
 |
| October |
KGI enters its
"Crush Hunger" cause into America’s Giving Challenge, an online
fundraising contest, and finishes in 25th place out of over 7000
nonprofit causes.
KGI's work recognized with a "Garden Crusader" award by
Gardener's Supply Co. |
 |
| |
KGI
releases its "Gardeners Have the Power" video. |
 |
| November |
Brussels sprouts! |
 |
| |
United Nations and
world leaders meeting at the World Summit on Food Security in Rome
signal a
shift in approach to fighting hunger, moving away from giving
people food to “empowering people to feed themselves” (i.e.
KGI’s mission statement!). |
 |
| |
Eat the View
campaign voted one of
top “Green Game Changers” of 2009 by the readers and editors of
the Huffington Post in the good company of the Environmental
Working Group, 350.org, and the Story of Stuff. |
 |
| December |
First Garden gets
the First Hoophouse, allowing the White House to grow food
year-round. (photo credit:
obamafoodorama.com). |
 |
| |
KGI ends year with
19,000 people in its network with a new website, logo and
activities on the
way. Watch for their unveiling in January! |
??? |
