Growing Hope Awards Inaugural Sprout Grants to Empower Community Gardens in Ypsilanti

Beloved community, There’s a phrase I keep returning to: We are the safety net. With the federal government shutdown now halting SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits across Michigan, that phrase feels less like a metaphor and more like a mandate. Beginning November 1st, thousands of Washtenaw County households, nearly 9% of local families, will lose access to the benefits that help them keep food on the table. These aren’t strangers. It’s our neighbors. It’s our friends. It’s the families who fill our markets, who grow alongside us, who deserve far more than the uncertainty this system has handed them. At Growing Hope, we’ve always believed that food sovereignty runs deeper than access. It means dignity, interdependence, and self-determination. When the systems built to care for people fail, our community steps forward to weave that net ourselves. To ensure that no one goes hungry during this crisis, we’re launching a new local initiative: the Ypsi Market SNAP Gap. This community-based program temporarily replaces or supplements SNAP for anyone who uses an EBT/Bridge Card. At the Ypsilanti Farmers Market, participants can receive $40 in market tokens to spend on any fresh or prepared foods. Simply bring your Bridge Card to the Market Info Booth and shop with dignity from local farmers and producers who nourish our community every week. We will not allow our neighbors to go hungry while food surrounds us. This program keeps local food moving through local hands, strengthening both Ypsi families and Ypsi farmers. With a mix of foundation, corporate, and individual support, this is mutual aid in motion. Folks are in need, and our community is stepping up in some incredible ways. Here are just a few, and some ways you can get involved: 1. Double Up Food Bucks has temporarily lifted its cap, allowing unlimited matches for Michigan-grown produce for anyone still receiving SNAP benefits, while also offering limited $40 vouchers. 2. Food Gatherers is expanding pantry hours and sites across the county. 3. Our Free Produce Stand at the Growing Hope Urban Farm remains open, stocked by community members and local growers who share what they can. No one will be turned away. If you have extra harvest from your garden, we invite you to share it directly with your neighbors. It’s not about waiting for systems to restart; it’s about creating systems rooted in care, justice, and belonging. Each Ypsi Market SNAP Gap token moves through our local food economy twice: once when it nourishes a family, and again when it supports the farmer who grew it. This is how we resist scarcity: by practicing abundance. We raised emergency funds earlier this year to prepare for moments like this, and they are already hard at work. But as need grows, so too must our response. Our community is what makes this pivotal movement work possible; thank you for being part of our community. “The land and the people are meant to take care of each other.” -Leah Penniman That’s what we’re doing now. Through shared harvests, through small acts of generosity, through the quiet conviction that no one should go hungry. In this moment of uncertainty, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: growing hope, together. In solidarity and care, Julius P.S. Shop the market, contribute to our Free Produce Stand, or share this with a neighbor who could use a helping hand; together, we keep our community fed and supported.

Beloved community, There is something both ordinary and sacred about food. It is in the smell of bread fresh from the oven, the snap of beans pulled from the vine, the way a shared meal can turn strangers into neighbors. Food is how we survive, but it is also how we connect, how we celebrate, and how we remember who we are. That is why we hold this truth at the center of our work: food is a human right. It is not a privilege. It is not a bargaining chip. It is not to be withheld, leveraged, or weaponized. Food is life, and everyone deserves access to it. And yet, at this very moment, that truth is being denied. Just weeks ago, the USDA quietly canceled its long-running Household Food Security in the U.S. report. For nearly three decades, this report has been one of the few consistent tools we have to measure hunger in this country. It has named the millions of households, disproportionately Black, Brown, Indigenous, and rural, that struggle to put food on the table. Without it, the crisis of hunger becomes easier to hide, easier to dismiss, easier to erase from the public record. Why does that matter? Because when we lose the data, we lose the visibility. When hunger is invisible, so too are the families who face it. And without that accountability, policymakers can claim progress where there is none, and corporate food systems can continue to profit while communities go without. But here is what we know in our bones: hunger is not inevitable . It is not an accident. It is the result of choices. If there are communities around the world who recognize food as a human right in their laws and policies, then it is possible here, too. In a country of such abundance, how can we allow hunger to persist? Every market we host, every meal we share, every seedling we pass into the hands of a neighbor is a refusal to accept that contradiction. These everyday acts help repair our community. Together, we are investing in a food system that reflects our values : one where fresh, local produce is available to all, where education builds resilience, where policies affirm food as a right, and where resources are shared freely, from our produce stand to the gardens sparked by our seedlings. Food connects us. It grounds us. It carries the possibility of dignity, sovereignty, and joy. And in this moment, when the truth about hunger is being stripped from the record, our collective action matters more than ever. Through solidarity, we can build a system rooted in abundance and belonging. In solidarity, Julius P.S. We’ve just released new Food is a Human Right shirts! You can grab yours as part of our Fall Harvest Auction . Take a look and see some of the other items you could take home to help our community achieve the right to food.