Global Gardens Chicago

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Global Gardens Chicago

Global Gardens Chicago We are a non-profit organization and urban farm that supports 75+ refugees who grow organic vegetables for sale and home consumption!

The mission of Global Garden Refugee Training Farm is to:

+ Improve access to fresh vegetables for newly arrived refugee families and their urban neighbors
+ Feed the souls of displaced farmers through reconnection with the soil and food production
+ Provide supplemental income for participating refugee farmers
+ Foster new, refugee-operated farms

02/14/2025

This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating love in different languages and cultural traditions!

Here are some different ways we say “I love you” at the farm 💌

02/04/2025

This Black History Month, we’re celebrating our African farmers and all the hard work they do at our farm. Their resilience and dedication to their gardens is truly an inspiration to us at Global Gardens.

We invite you to learn more about a special vegetable that we grow at the farm, Callaloo or Amaranth. Callaloo is known as a vegetable of the African diaspora, originating in West Africa and then making its way to the Caribbean and United States via the transatlantic slave trade. Callaloo is sometimes classified as a w**d these days, but we see it as a symbol of resistance and resilience. It is mostly used sautéed in a soup or stew. To learn more about the history of Callaloo (and for a recipe), we invite you to read the article in our bio.

This month and every month we acknowledge the impact African farmers and vegetables have had on our agricultural practices, food systems, and culture and we celebrate their accomplishments.

Note from Jess: If you’re interested in learning more about the history of black farmers in this country, I just finished reading, Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership by Brea Baker which discusses the history of black and indigenous farmers in our country and their commitment to freedom and reciprocal care for the land. I couldn’t recommend it enough!

01/28/2025

🏆 We are nominated as a finalist for Best Environmental Partner! Head over to the link in our bio to vote for us. Voting closes January 31st!

Thank you!

01/01/2025

🎉 A HUGE thank you to everyone who supported our End-of-Year Giving Campaign! 🎉

Thanks to your generosity, we raised an incredible $9,059.71! 🙌 Your contributions will make a real difference for Chicago’s refugee community and we couldn’t have done it without you!

Together, we’re creating lasting change. Here’s to a bright year ahead! 💙

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with joy, hope, and new opportunities! 🥂✨

12/31/2024

We’re in awe of the support you all have given us in just the last 24 hours for our End-Of-Year Campaign. We went from being at 40% of our goal to 74%! We’re so close to meeting our goal of $10,000 to support Chicago’s refugee families and local food production.

Today is the last day of our fundraiser, and we know together we can meet our goal! The donation link is in our bio 🔗

Can’t donate? No problem, please consider liking and sharing our posts to promote our work. Thank you all for any support you’re able to offer. We couldn’t do it without you!

Wishing you all a very happy and safe new years! 🎇

12/30/2024

📣 Only one more day until our End-of-Year Giving Campaign Deadline! 📣

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already - we’re now at 52% of our goal of raising $10,000 by tomorrow! A reminder that when you donate to us you are supporting the following:

🌾 Food Sovereignty within refugee communities
🌱 Local produce using organic practices
♻️ A more environmentally sustainable food system and circular economy
🪘Cultural Programming and Events

Donate now to help us reach our goal!

👉 Link in bio to donate!

12/28/2024

⏳ Only 4 days left to make a difference!

We need your help to reach our $10,000 goal by December 31st.

🌱 Your donation supports refugee families growing culturally meaningful food, earning income, and building food sovereignty.

Every dollar counts in creating a stronger, more sustainable community. Let’s finish the year strong—together we can do this! 💚 🕊

Donate now: [link in bio]

12/21/2024

🌟 Level up your impact this holiday season!

A donation of $100 covers the cost for a week at a farmers’ market including market fees, POS applications and hardware, market supplies, and staff time. Selling at farmers markets gives our farmers the opportunity to sell their produce, earn income, and sustain their families. 💚

With less than two weeks left until December 31st, your support is more important than ever. Help us reach our $10,000 goal and empower refugee families to grow, sell, and thrive. Let’s make every dollar count! 🌱

📅 Don’t wait—give today and make a lasting difference!

👉Click on the link in bio to donate!

12/19/2024

🚐💨Time is running out! We have until December 31st to hit our $10,000 goal and keep our mission going. A donation of just $25 covers gas for our farm van for a week during the growing season, delivering fresh produce to farmers markets and food pantries.

🌱 Your support fuels more than just our farm van—it directly supports refugee families and helps build food sovereignty within our community. Let’s work together to grow food, connection, and opportunity this year and for many years to come—no matter who is in office. Every dollar makes a difference! 🌟

As always, link in bio to donate 🔗

12/17/2024

⚠️ Fundraising Update ⚠️

We’re two weeks away from our fundraising deadline and we’re almost at 50% of our goal of raising $10,000. Can you donate today to help us reach 50% by the end of week? A gift of just $20 goes such a long way at a small nonprofit like ours.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us already. If you can’t support monetarily, please consider giving this post a share to spread the word! 🙏

Donate here: https://donorbox.org/one-time-donation-168

12/13/2024

🌱 Meet Ni Lar and Noor, two incredible individuals whose journey began in Burma’s Mon and Rakhine states. Forced to flee their homeland, they found themselves in Malaysia, living without refugee camps, working to survive, and enduring repeated arrests. After many years in Malaysia, the UN finally stepped in to help.

Their path eventually led them to California and then Chicago, where they joined a vibrant Burmese community. Despite the hardships, gardening has remained a constant in their lives. Both grew up tending to gardens with their families, and now, their time in the garden offers a sense of peace and connection.

Ni Lar beautifully shares, “Whenever I go to the garden, I feel like I’m in my village [in Burma]. It’s good for my mental and physical health. We can see other people and share things and communicate, so we forget about things like depression.”

We’re honored to spotlight Noor and Ni Lar’s resilience, strength, and the joy they bring to our gardens. 🌼

Donate today to help farmers like Ni Lar & Noor!

🔗 Link in Bio to donate.

12/09/2024

This week, we’re highlighting stories of our farmers’ resilience and dedication to our garden. Every donation this holiday season goes to helping them continue growing food for their families and our community. 💚

🌱 Meet Farmer Pak Suan! Originally from Chin State, Burma, he came to the U.S. in 2011 after years in Thai refugee camps. Pak Suan is known as the jokester around the garden, always cracking jokes and making the other farmer’s laugh. Pak Suan works the graveyard shift at Rivers Casino and then comes directly to the farm to harvest on summer mornings. His mother, Ciing Niang, also helps him grow and pick vegatables in the garden. Discover more about Pak Suan’s inspiring journey and our garden in this Chicago Reader article: https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/albany-parks-hidden-refugee-farm/
Your support helps refugees like Pak Suan grow fresh food, provide for their families, and strengthen our community. 💚

Donate today to make a difference! 🙌

Link in bio 🔗

”

12/04/2024

🙏Thank you to everyone who contributed to our campaign yesterday!
We appreciate you for making supporting your local refugee farm a priority this giving season especially in this time of uncertainty.

If you haven’t had a chance to give yet, we’re still collecting donations for our End-of-Year Giving Campaign. Currently, we’re at $1,751.09 of our $10,000 goal by December 31st. Give now to help us reach this goal!

🔗 Link in bio to donate!

12/03/2024

📣 Today is GivingTuesday—a global day of generosity and action! 🌍💛

Your support today can make a lasting impact on Chicago’s refugee community and local food systems. 🍎 Together, we can empower families, create sustainable opportunities, and build a stronger, more inclusive future.

Don’t wait—this is your chance to be part of something meaningful. Every donation, no matter the size—even just $5–makes a difference!

We’re currently at 12.5% of our End-of-Year campaign goal, and we’d love to get to 20% by end of day today, and with your help, we can!

💻 Donate now: https://donorbox.org/one-time-donation-168 or go to the link in our bio!
📢 Share this post to help spread the word!

”

12/02/2024

📣 Giving Tuesday is just ONE day away! 🌟

This is your chance to make a difference by supporting Chicago’s refugee community and strengthening local food systems. 🌍🍎

Every donation (even just $5) helps create opportunities, empower families, and build a more inclusive future for all. 💛

Let’s come together and show the power of community! 🫶

Mark your calendar, spread the word, and be part of this global day of giving tomorrow.

Link in bio to make a donation!

”

11/28/2024

At Global Gardens Chicago, we deeply believe in the power of nourishing our community and celebrating cultural dishes. One topic that often comes up is the absence of Burmese restaurants in Chicago—Wheaton is home to the closest one That’s why this year, we’ve been thrilled to pay our farmers to prepare dishes for you during our concert series with the support of , including many Burmese specialties! This year, we were also able to put on cooking classes led by two of our farmers from Burma and Thailand- Nge Meh and Ta Kaw.

Sharing meals is truly at the heart of what we do at Global Gardens. This summer, I (Jessica) texted Haley saying, “One of my favorite things about the farm is that if you stay long enough, it’s inevitable that you’ll be offered food.” That spirit of generosity is central to our mission.

Our farmers are always eager to share their cultural dishes with the community, and we are incredibly grateful for their enthusiasm and willingness to share with us. Here are a couple of dishes we offered through our programming this year:

1. Haley serving tohu thoke- Burmese tofu salad at our Grand Reopening Event
2. Tohu thoke - Burmese Tofu Salad
3. Ohn No Kao Swe - Burmese coconut curry noodle soup
4. Mont Let Saung - traditional Burmese drink with coconut milk, palm sugar, and rice jelly
5. Farmer and chef of the previous dishes, Nge Meh with son Twe Reh
6. Ugali kwa mchuzi wa mbuzi- African fufu and Goat Soup and Laphet Thoke- Burmese tea leaf salad
7. Farmer Celestine- chef of fufu & goat soup
8. Cambodian melon and coconut dessert
9. Farmer Chiva and his Cambodian dish
10. Our Cambodian spread at our September concert
11. Farmer Ta Kaw teaching our cooking class on Papaya Salad
12. Papaya Salad ingredients
13. Text between myself and Haley 🫶🏻😊

In the spirit of community, we invite you to support ours by donating to our End-of-Year campaign: https://donorbox.org/one-time-donation-168

11/25/2024

is just around the corner! 🌟 This year, let’s come together to support Chicago’s refugee community and strengthen our local food systems. 🍎🌍

Every donation helps grow opportunities and create a sustainable future. 💛

📅 Mark your calendar for December 3rd and be part of the movement! 🙌

11/20/2024

🌱 Join us in raising $10,000 by December 31st to support refugee families growing culturally meaningful food, feeding their loved ones, and connecting with the healing power of soil. 💚

Your gift also helps provide fresh produce to food pantries, supports farmers selling at local markets, and funds organic seeds, supplies, and so much more. Together, we’re growing nourishment, community, and opportunity—let’s make it happen!

Link in bio to donate!

Pictured here: Farmer Nge Meh and son, Twe Reh at our annual farm picnic this year!

Address

4815 N. Sacramento Avenue
Chicago, IL
60625

Website

http://globalgardenschicago.org/

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Videos

We’re still reeling from the amount of support you all gave us in 2024. Whether that be volunteering, being one of our many amazing community partners, restaurants, concert attendees, musicians, or chefs—we so appreciate you. Our updated final amount for our End-of-Year campaign was $16,580. This is the most we’ve been able to raise in a single campaign ever. We’re so beyond elated that you all continue to prioritize your refugee neighbors and urban farm in your community. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Hello from Director Haley and Farmer Than ✨

Reminder that you can deduct a donation to our organization on your taxes if you donate by December 31st! Every donation goes towards building food sovereignty within Chicago’s refugee community. We’re currently at 50% of our End-of-Year campaign goal and we only have 3 more days to go! Can you help us reach our goal? 🔗 Link in bio to donate

🌿 Meet Armand, a new member of our farming community! 🌍 Originally from the Republic of Congo, Armand has a degree in agriculture. Just 8 months ago, he arrived in Chicago with his family, bringing his passion and expertise to our garden. Armand loves to grow spinach and sorrel as you can see in this video! Your support empowers refugees like Armand to put their skills to work, grow fresh food for themselves and their families, and create a stronger community. 🙌 Help us continue this vital work—donate today! 🔗 Link in bio! #RefugeeStories #UrbanFarm #NonprofitFarm #donatetoday #supportrefugees #chicagofarm

🌱 Global Gardens 2024 Recap (so far) 🌱 🌟 63 refugee families served 🥕 $25,642.42 donated to food pantries 💰 $102,454.56 earned by our amazing market farmers 🌽 Infinite veggies enjoyed! Thank you to everyone who made this incredible season possible—we couldn’t do it without you! 💚 Help us continue this vital work by supporting our End-of-Year Campaign. Every contribution makes a difference! 🙌 Link in bio to donate! #GlobalGardens #RefugeeFarmers #CommunityImpact #SupportLocal #ThankYou

We have so much gratitude for our community that came to support us last week at our fundraiser! If you weren’t able to make it, you can still support us by donating at the link in our bio! This event made possible by Cigna Health.