The Community Gardens Act of 2009
Introduced in the House on July 15, 2009, the Community Gardens Act of 2009 allows (but does not mandate) the USDA to create a grant program to help groups or organizations start, build, and run community gardens. It is meant to encourage healthy lifestyles, help make fresh fruits and vegetables more easily available to communities, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and educate the values of community gardening to the public. Non-profits, state and local governments, community development organizations, Native American or tribal groups, and technical, educational, and outreach institutions can apply for grants that can be used for such reasons as construction of community gardens, community outreach, and operating the gardens.
For more information and to view the text of the legislation, please visit: http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.03225: