Genesis Garden

Food Initiatives.Genesis Garden serves as fiscal sponsor for Loaves & Fishes, Inc., an ecumenical organization with a pending application for 501(c)(3). Loaves & Fishes distributes food vouchers to McDonough County households for food purchases at area grocery stores. Loaves & Fishes serves an average of 430 households per month. Loaves & Fishes, Inc. expenses totaled $161,105.Genesis Garden also provides summer meals for kids through the ISBE/USDA SFSP program. During the summer of 2024, Genesis Garden provided 6,861 meals to children and youth under 18. Summer meals expenses totaled $18,661.

Community Empowerment Initiatives. Four new empowerment-focused initiatives were continued or launched during the year. (1) the Family Dinner Project which promotes food, fun and conversation about things that matter. (2) The Open Table which focuses on community assets that are renewable, sustainable, and transformational through organizing and investing relational and social capital. A group of volunteers develops long-term, reciprocal relationships with an individual or family. Tables meet weekly to share friendship and access social networks to support life goals. (3) Mental Health Resiliency training and peer supports to improve mental wellness in the community, and(4) becoming a HUD-certified Housing Counseling agency. As a Housing Counseling agency, Genesis Garden will offer groupeducation and one-on-one counseling to individuals on topic such as landlord-tenant interactions, improving credit scores,pre-home purchase counseling and foreclosure prevention.