Target Expands Community Garden to Impact Houston Food Deserts

HOUSTON, TX —More than 200 Target team members, local law enforcement and fire department volunteers will give back to support Target Hunger, a United Way of Greater Houston affiliate agency, at the Goffney Community Garden in Houston’s fifth ward.

Volunteers will assemble 16 new garden beds that will increase growing capacity by more than 60 percent in an effort to consolidate Target Hunger’s gardens into one central garden.

This build will provide more families with access to healthier food options and is part of community efforts to help close the gap in Houston food deserts.

Each year about 4,500 pounds of produce come out of the garden annually and benefits those in the Houston community who otherwise would not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

This event is part of Target’s Regional Days of Service, an annual volunteer event that encourages Target store team members from across the country to give back in their own communities in the month of May.

In the last year, Target team members across the country donated 1.1 million hours of volunteer service in their local communities. Of that, Houston team members donated 16,221 hours.

Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week.

Target is committed to helping communities overcome barriers to wellness – such as access to fresh fruits and vegetables – to help make it easier to eat healthier foods and live active lives.

For more than 27 years, Target Hunger staff and volunteers have been growing fresh fruits, vegetables and pecans at the Goffney Community Garden to support hunger relief programs and food pantries across five Houston zip codes.

Fifteen percent of Houston’s population lives in poverty and many low-income families and individuals live in food deserts – geographical areas where fresh, nutritious foods is not available through nearby grocery stores or markets.

In 2016, Target Hunger distributed 4.4 million pounds of food, and meals for 22,000 Houston residents, which is equivalent to more than 3.7 million meals.

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