H.O.P.E. – “Helping Other People Eat”. The vision came while Julie’s husband Rich was a homeless teenager, wondering why it was so hard to find food. He kept thinking if people knew how to grow their own food, there would be so much less hunger. Many years later a work related concussion required a home rest and a return to his vision. With a nudge from their teenage son, Rich and Julie started HOPE Gardens.

Julie Brunson of Grand Rapids, Michigan shared the story behind H.O.P.E. Gardens with Designers of Paradise host Erik van Lennep. It took 30 years for the vision to gestate and has taken them from a suburban “garden of shame” to organic food grown by the hands of children.

Julie talks about introducing regenerative approaches into their farming with a “back to Eden” approach that strives to recreate the forest floor. She describes how they are designing gardens for beauty as well as for teachers to use as “cool down” spaces for children.

Julie talks about the emerging curriculum they are developing which seeks to teach about everything from “seed to plate”. She talks about partnering with a local food bank, the high school’s science program, and other school districts.

Erik reminds us about “food sovereignty” and lessons from his interview with Simone Senogles. The interview explains the transformational impact gardening has on children, overcoming food insecurity, and even draws lessons from pumpkin vandalism.

Listen and feel the love.

Hope Gardens on the Internet:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram

Julie Brunson:

• Julie Brunson on Linkedin
• Julie Brunson on Twitter

Designers of Paradise is made possible, in part, by Mind & Media. Over the last quarter century, the writers, producers, storytellers and media specialists at Mind & Media have spearheaded a multitude of engaging and complex communication campaigns.

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