Vimenti receives $10K grant to expand school garden project
The Starbucks Foundation grant supports food security and community ties in Puerto Rico.
Vimenti has received a $10,000 Global Community Impact Grant from The Starbucks Foundation to advance school gardening projects that promote food security, healthy habits and community engagement in Puerto Rico.
Starbucks’ local licensed operator, Baristas del Caribe LLC, nominated Vimenti for the grant, making the funding possible. Vimenti was one of more than 80 nonprofit organizations nominated across 46 global markets.
“This grant will support over 80 individuals at Vimenti by providing hands-on school gardening activities that promote food security, healthy living, and intergenerational learning through Vimenti’s Two-Generation Model,” the organization said in a statement.
The grant will help expand Vimenti’s urban gardening program, allowing students, families, and community members to grow their own food, learn sustainable practices and build social ties within the Villa Prades community.
“As Vimenti evolves from an integrated services center within our community to a pivotal services hub for Villa Prades and beyond, collaborations and partnerships remain at the heart of our work,” said Bárbara Rivera-Batista, executive director of Vimenti.
“We’re grateful and honored to have The Starbucks Foundation and Baristas del Caribe among our partners in our mission to eradicate child and generational poverty in Puerto Rico,” she said.
The gardening project began last year in response to a heat wave and was proposed by Sherleen Camilo, a mother and member of the Vimenti Family Council.
“I’m thrilled and grateful to see how school, families and volunteers come together to make this dream come true, creating a garden that not only benefits our children but also strengthens our school community at Vimenti,” she said.
The Starbucks Foundation’s Global Community Impact Grant program supports nonprofit organizations focused on creating positive local change. Since 2022, the program has awarded more than $10 million, reaching at least 150 organizations in more than 60 markets.
