At Elm City Market, we strive to be the best market in New Haven and uplift sustainability, health, wellness, and social justice within the New Haven community. We are proud to spotlight an organization in New Haven that exemplifies those values, Gather New Haven.
While strolling through every neighborhood in New Haven, you will likely stumble upon one of the forty-five community gardens growing fresh produce managed by Gather New Haven. These gardens were created to promote public health, community development, and most notably, through Gather New Havens’s “Farm-Based Wellness Program,” which engages community members with diet-related chronic disease risk factors to increase nutritional education.
Gather New Haven has created a vast network of community programs such as their Eco-Lab, where students ages 18-25 can apply to develop and prototype equitable clean energy solutions, and the Growing Entrepreneurship program, where students actively participate as employees of Gather New Haven. There, students can develop their ventures, create mission statements, establish financial details, and create fully fleshed business proposals.
Gather is founded on five core values:
Inclusion and Belonging: to “co-create welcoming and inclusive spaces with practices that are grounded in shared decision making and that reflect, respect, and honor the rich array of experiences, cultures, and contributions of our diverse community.”
Power of Place: to “affirm the power of land and water as sources of our health and well-being. We hold them in trust – now and for future generations – through interdependent governance with the New Haven community.”
Accountability and Integrity: “We uphold the highest standards of honesty, transparency, integrity, and open communication in our work and relationships to ensure we stay accountable to our community, our mission, and our values.”
Equity: “Equitable access to land, water, and food is a source of strength for all communities. We recognize the injustices that exist in our world and pledge ourselves, our knowledge, and our resources to bring about lasting and transformational change in ourselves, our organization, and our community.”
Curiosity and Learning: “We believe a deep understanding of our natural world and of each other emerges through intentional exchange, humble inquiry, open dialogue, and hands-on experience. We cultivate emerging, authentic, and restorative approaches to learning that align with community aspirations and help build a shared body of knowledge that is grounded in rigorous examination, evidence, and feedback.”
Join Gather New Haven in Maintaining our Nature Preserves
Gather New Haven maintains over 80 acres for land conservation in 6 nature preserves spread throughout New Haven. Click here to sign up to volunteer this month for a hands-on experience and become a steward of New Haven’s urban ecosystems.
