In partnership with Kent Hillside Church, Construction for Change, and many other amazing community partners, World Relief Seattle is excited to introduce our newest Refugee and Immigrant Empowerment Space. We are converting an acre of paved parking lot space and transforming it into the Paradise Parking Plots community garden with 50 plots, where refugees, immigrants and local community members can gather to grow culturally appropriate foods that promote a healthier lifestyle, improve food access, foster economic independence, and build community. Further, this garden will provide a much needed space for interactive nutrition and health education of youth and adults in the Kent community.
Adjacent to the garden, there will also be a full service commercial and teaching kitchen. The teaching kitchen will increase the productivity of the garden by allowing gardeners to learn canning, freezing and fermenting techniques to preserve food beyond the growing season and to also sell in local farmer's market and to the greater refugee and immigrant community.
The entire Empowerment Center located at Kent Hillside Church will ultimately benefit the refugee and immigrant community in the following ways:
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Grow culturally appropriate foods that promote a healthier lifestyle and increase food access in a USDA certified food desert for those in need;
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Create a collaborative community space for people of many different cultures and mobility needs;
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Foster economic independence by increasing capacity for small business and income generation ideas
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Increase community awareness surrounding (garden, sustainability, etc)
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Build community amongst refugees and immigrants with the broader local population
Join us for our garden grand opening on Wednesday, May 9th from 6 - 8 pm.
To stay up to date on garden happenings, sign up for work parties, and see the progress being made at the garden, follow our Hillside Paradise Parking Plots Facebook page.
Your gift is an investment in the inherent resiliency of refugees and immigrants and will be used to grow community through spaces like the Paradise Parking Plots Community Garden.
Thanks to all our community partners including:
