Transforming lives and neighborhoods. About Us News & Blog Contact Us Ways To Give Careers Hosting a School Group Gave Green City Growers a Chance to Talk About Our Mission The coronavirus pandemic has forced inner-city school districts to improvise learning tactics like nothing else has in decades. Green City Growers also had to make adjustments, from providing produce largely for now-shuttered restaurants in the community to finding more retail outlets for its fresh food. So, a recent greenhouse visit by a Cleveland public schools summer program seemed like a particularly good fit. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s new Summer Learning Experience was conceived as an antidote to more than a year of Covid-related disruptions in student learning. It’s also a response to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s call to school districts around the state to address the gaps in learning created by the pandemic. Those disruptions were only aggravated by disparities caused by higher rates of poverty among district families and the cruelties of the digital divide, which further complicated the challenge for students to learn remotely. Our Multi-Faceted Mission For Green City Growers, the tour provided a way to highlight our multi-faceted mission: a chance to engage with the surrounding community and to highlight the subject of food sustainability by explaining what lies behind the curtain as food is produced and transported. And to touch on the advantages of doing so in a co-operatively owned and managed environment. And maybe, just maybe, plant the idea in students’ heads that such work might one day be a good fit for them. “We planned the visit to be both fun and informative. We started the tour in our conference room,” recalls Matt Licina, GCG’s manager of customer service, who shared some Powerpoint slides that explained the operation and the principles behind it. “The kids thought it was cool to be in the place where we make many of our decisions.” In his presentation to the high school students, he outlined the seven co-operative principles under which GCG operates: Voluntary and open membership Democratic member control Members’ economic participation Autonomy and independence Education, training and information Cooperation among co-operatives Concern for the community The students’ visit was part of an enrichment component of the summer program. They will eventually prepare a meal for their families and produce a short documentary on the subject of food desserts—geographic areas that are underserved by outlets providing nutritious food, thus causing food insecurity. Toward that end, Matt explained how Green City Growers does its part in the battle against food insecurity, by regularly providing greens to the Cleveland Food Bank and a food pantry operated by Oberlin Community Services. He also explained where the rest of the food produced by GCG goes. That includes several locations within a 150-mile radius, as well as Walmart grocery stores as far away as Maine and Meijer food stores in Michigan. As the visit concluded, Matt could tell that the tour had deeply resonated for at least one of the students. “I could work here!” she said, brightly. Cleveland Metropolitan School, Green City Growers Employee Ownership: A Partial Answer to the Crisis of Lagging Interest in Work Evergreen Cooperatives helps companies shift to co-ops, share profits with workers Mission/Vision Our Partners Become An Investor Evergreen Business Services Leadership News & Blog Ways To Give Featured News September 29, 2021 Evergreen Signs New Five-Year Contract with the Cleveland Clinic August 11, 2021 Evergreen Cooperatives helps companies shift to co-ops, share profits with workers July 22, 2021 Hosting a School Group Gave Green City Growers a Chance to Talk About Our Mission Home|About Us|Ways To Give| Contact Us|(216) 268-5399|info@evgoh.com © 2016 Evergreen Cooperative Corporation