HILLVIEW URBAN AGRICULTURE CENTER INC
a Growing Experience
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Vermicomposting Center
Vegetable waste is taken mainly from UW-La Crosse food services. It is also taken from Mayo Clinic Health System—Franciscan Healthcare cafeteria’s kitchen, Western Technical College and the People’s Food Co-op. The veggie waste is used to produce the worm castings fertilizer. The rich worm castings are harvested in the spring and fall, packaged as VermiGold and sold at local retailers, including Ace of La Crosse, People’s Food Co-op and Full Circle Supply. Sales of VermiGold help support Hillview programs. The vermicompost is also donated to local school gardens, the Boys & Girls Club Mathy Center garden, the Kane Street Community Garden and Washburn Community Garden.
Growing Programs In Greenhouse, Hoop house, Seed Library, and Bountiful Garden Tour
Thanks to a shared vision and generous support from Mayo Clinic Health System—Franciscan Healthcare and Western Technical College, with support from the La Crosse Community Foundation, in October 2015 Hillview moved into a new state-of-the-art greenhouse located on Western’s campus in the Horticulture Education Center on the corner of 7th & Vine. In our new greenhouse we are providing education on growing, preparing and preserving nutritious food with a focus on low-income individuals and families as well as providing senior citizens, specially-abled and other community members with volunteer opportunities in greenhouse activities and programs.
Thanks to a generous donation by Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare, a hoop house was installed at the Washburn Community Garden in the fall of 2012. The produce grown in the hoop house has been donated and sold to help support Hillview’s mission. We offer a variety of educational programs at the hoop house and will be working with La Crosse Seed Library this year.
Hillview’s Growing program mission-
Provide educational and inspirational program space for people of all ages and abilities to participate.
Grow organic and heirloom variety food seedlings to be sold/donated for community gardens, school gardens, and the public.
Grow produce to fruition for sale at farmers markets, grocery, and restaurant and donation to food pantries.
2018 Annual Bountiful Gardens Tour
July 28 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Connecting community members with experienced vegetable gardeners to share knowledge and inspiration.
Hillview Urban Agriculture Center (Hillview) will host its 4th annual “Bountiful Gardens Tour”. Participants will have a chance to view private and community gardens in La Crosse with examples of raised beds, square-foot gardening, lasagna gardening, straw bale, edible landscapes and more. Tour all or some gardens. Tickets cost $5 in advance and $10 the day of the event at each site. Children under 16 are free. Fill out the information on the back of your ticket for a chance to win a container of Hillview’s VermiGold. All participants will receive a free copy of Hillview’s publication The La Crosse Area’s Growing Experience.
Market Baskets food preparation Classes and Future Iron Chef program
The Market Baskets Program teaches food skills by providing free, hands-on cooking classes and demonstrations to the La Crosse Community. Food skills are a combination of knowledge and hands-on skills necessary to prepare safe, nutritious, and culturally representative food. The goals of the cooking classes are to teach community members how to incorporate fresh, local produce into easy-to-prepare, affordable recipes that can be prepared by all ages using a variety of kitchen tools.
Over the last four years, we have given away 800 crockpots as part of our free Market Baskets cooking classes. We are now expanding our cooking classes to include different methods of food preparation and provide a greater variety of giveaways. The new kitchen tool giveaways for our classes are a knife and cutting board, an immersion blender, or a salad spinner. Participants are encouraged to use their new kitchen tools at home to prepare healthy recipes for their own families.
Market Baskets classes are taught two times a month and are provided to various organizations within the La Crosse Community. The Hillview Urban Agriculture Center believes that everyone in our community should—and can—have access to healthy local food. While the Market Baskets program is designed to meet the needs of communities located within food desserts or with high levels of food insecurity, the program is open to all communities with variable levels of food access.
Our Future Iron Chef program (FIC)
The Future Iron Chef program seeks to reach teens at a critical time and get them excited about eating healthy and delicious food. We achieve this by assembling teens from from local high schools or service agencies and matching them with diverse local chefs. The teams are trained in basic kitchen skills and flavor creation and get to see a working kitchen in action. Everyone involved meets up at a public event and show off what they have learned by presenting plates to judges and giving samples to audience. Each team is scored on flavor, presentation, healthy choices, and teamwork. Prizes are given to all!
Where we work
External reviews
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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HILLVIEW URBAN AGRICULTURE CENTER INC
Board of directorsas of 06/05/2018
Pamela Dixon
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-dixon-94929618/
Term: 2017 -