The Friends of Urban Agriculture (FOUA)
appreciate the support provided by ourinstitutional partners - Arlington Public School(APS), the Virginia Cooperative Extension(VCE) and the Healthy Community Action
Team (HCAT) program during 2020. The
School Victory Gardens program enabled
Arlington County to combat food insecurity,
build community, and demonstrate
Arlingtonian’s resilience and civic response tothe COVID-19 pandemic.
The year 2020 was a whirlwind of activity as
FOUA transformed four classroom instruction
gardens at Hoffman-Boston Elementary (HFB),
Wakefield High School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School (TJMS), andTuckahoe Elementary into scalable ‘urban farm’ sites to support ourArlington community’s food insecure neighbors. Over 1,588 pounds of fresh
produce from these 2020 Victory Garden sites were distributed to foodpantries throughout the County. Looking to the future, the pandemic’s farreaching economic impacts will require a continued emphasis on foodproduction and food pantry distribution in the communities of Arlington
county and beyond.
According to Urban Institute and Arlington Economic Development data,over 4,200 low- income jobs in Arlington were lost to COVID-19 in 2020.
This is in addition to the more than 18,000 unemployment claims filed byArlingtonians between March – September 2020. In an October 2020
survey, 38 percent of Arlington businesses indicated that they are at risk ofclosing. The COVID-19 pandemic increased Arlington’s food insecure
population from 15,570 (2018) to a current estimated 27,150 residents
resulting in significant pressure on our area’s food pantries. In 2020 thedemand for donated food was staggering. The School Victory Gardens
responded quickly to support this unprecedented demand. Most importantly,
the school garden sites were strategically located adjacent to the prioritizedneighborhoods in need, which allowed the harvests to stay within thecommunities who needed them most.

Project Stakeholders
Healthy Communities Action Team (HCAT)
This program would not exist without the generous financial support from Arlington Partnership forChildren, Youth and Families’ (APCYF) Healthy Community Action Team (HCAT). HCAT’s contribution
supplied plants, mulch, soil, tools, growing supplies, and fencing materials across all four VG sites.

Arlington Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) and Extension Master Gardeners
The success of the VGs rests solely on the dynamism of Arlington’s own VCE Extension Agents,Kirsten Conrad and Aisha Salazar. Kirsten recruited and curated a team of Extension MasterGardeners to provide the VG’s with on-site technical support, and hosted regular weekly virtual
meetings with all VG participants to discuss issues and challenges in the gardens. Aisha developed
tailorable safety guidelines to provide VG participants with thorough hygiene COVID-19 practices inthe gardens.

Rock Spring Church Bagging Site
Master Gardener Rebecca Halbe and VCE Agent Aisha Salazar orchestrated a County-wide donationprogram, to include creating a centralized distribution hub at Rock Spring United Church of Christ, tocollect freshly grown produce from VGs sites, established community gardens, and Arlingtonians’
backyard gardens. Dozens of volunteers from Master Food Volunteers, church members, Marymount
University students, and others properly cleaned, packaged, and distributed directly to Arlingtonneighborhoods in need. Marymount University provided a grant to purchase supplies for the program.

Victory Garden Coordinators
The Victory Garden Coordinators (GCs) epitomize the ideals of selfless, civic stewards. The GCshave invested years of experience at their site, to include prior donations to Arlington Food
Assistance Center (AFAC). In addition to their service in the gardens, they also serve as APS faculty
members, PTA members, and/or parents of current students. The GCs led their assigned volunteers
and were responsible for the successful yields each VG site produced. The GCs are the sentinels ofthe VG program. Their countless hours in the dirt and tireless dedication cannot be overstated.

Volunteers
With over 80 volunteers who raised their hand to join this initiative, FOUA and VCE leveraged a deep
bench of talented and motivated Arlingtonians to provide the daily ‘muscle’ in each of the VG sites.
From first sow to final reap, all gardening tasks were carried out by our volunteer cadre.

Friends of Urban Agriculture (FOUA)FOUA provided the program management, volunteer recruitment, strategic communications, andorganizational and financial oversight to support the GCs and volunteer cadre. Each VG wasassigned a FOUA Board Member who provided on-site support and complemented the GCs’ efforts.

Gardens
Wakefield High School
Garden Coordinator and Wakefield Senior Project Advisor, Lisa LaBella, undertook the Herculean
task of doubling the footprint of Lucas’ Place, Wakefield’s memorial instructional garden. Lisa
selected a team of experienced gardeners willing to clear almost 400 square feet of adjacentgrasslands and engineered a modular fencing solution to deter deer and local wildlife.

Thomas Jefferson Middle School
With over 5,000 square feet, the TJMS instructional garden is APS’ largest. Led by GCs Reidy Brown
and Enid Dunbar, TJMS is fueled by a dedicated crew of volunteers who grow a diverse variety ofgreens, vegetables, and fruits. TJMS infrastructure - dedicated 700 foot irrigation system, permanent
fenced enclosure, large tool shed, trellis support system - is a model for future VGs.

Hoffman-Boston Elementary
Meticulously maintained by GC Ilana Rea, the beautiful HFB VG is formed by two separate gardens.
This separation provides unique microclimates to simultaneously grow shade tolerant leafy greensand heat-loving summer fare. The most productive site, per square footage, this site gained theadmiration of the community and provided food directly to South Arlington’s North Asian immigrant
population.

Tuckahoe Elementary
A perennial contributor to Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) Plot Against Hunger program,
Tuckahoe was repurposed this year to support the VG initiative. Tuckahoe neighbor and EMG,
Rebecca Halbe, and Tuckahoe outdoor learning educator, Margaret Egan, reconditioned soil in the
recently installed raised beds to improve soil health and nutrients for summer plants. Their hard work
paid off handsomely as the beds thrived with new growth.

Partnerships
The VGs illustrate Arlington’s All Hands on Deck approach
In addition to our institutional partners - APS, VCE and HCAT - we are thankful and humbled by theoutpouring of support from individual Arlingtonians and local businesses who provided both material
and non-material resources to make the VG effort so successful. Our partners included:• Puwen Lee• Renee Whiffen• 4-H (Alexandria)• Melwood• Shelton Tree Service• We Recycle Trees• Meadows Farm
• Merrifield Garden Center• Mom’s Organic Market

Winter PlanningGarden Improvements and Volunteer Education
The end of the growing season provided a unique opportunity to make improvements on small
portions of APS land. Beds were repaired, invasive weeds knocked back, and cover crops planted
to ensure soil health in 2021. Similarly, FOUA and VCE continued educational opportunities tovolunteers to ensure they are prepared to start again in the spring.
Based on the outpouring of community and individual support -- coupled with the coronavirus’
forecasted persistence over the next 18 months -- FOUA hopes to continue the VG program into the2021 growing season. We also plan to provide recommendations for how VGs can expand, in bothcurrent footprint and into new sites, to meet increased community demand for fresh produce. FOUA
is committed to working with APS to provide sustained and equitable support to school gardens
across the county.
The Friends of Urban Agriculture appreciated the productive partnership with APS-VCE-HCAT, andenjoyed the opportunity to serve the Arlington community in 2020. We look forward to a continued
focus on urban agriculture, food security, and community outreach in the years ahead.