Local Food Heroes Program

About Local Food Heroes Program

The Local Food Heroes Story: Growing Veterans, Growing Communities

Local Food Heroes began in 2023 at Veterans Haven North in Glen Gardner, NJ, with a simple question: “What if gardens could be a tool to grow food, share hope, and feed those in need?”

What started as a transformation of an unused staff courtyard into a productive garden has shown us the potential for creating meaningful change through agricultural education. At our Veterans Haven North location, we provide basic gardening education and hands-on learning opportunities for veteran residents. Through structured gardening sessions, veterans learn fundamental growing practices while experiencing the therapeutic benefits of working with the land.

Our Vision for Growth
We aim to develop Veterans Haven North as our flagship Garden Education Center, creating a comprehensive agricultural training site where veterans can master hands-on farming skills, learn sustainable practices, explore agricultural careers, develop business expertise, and build connections with agricultural service providers.

A key component of our approach is identifying and transforming underutilized public land – from state facility grounds to municipal lots – into productive growing spaces. These overlooked areas become valuable community assets through our work, demonstrating how vacant spaces can be reimagined for food production and community building.

After veterans complete their training at our flagship center, they’ll return to their communities to establish new Garden Education Centers on similar underutilized lands. These veteran-led centers will serve as community hubs where families gather to learn growing practices, share resources, and gradually rebuild community connections through shared agricultural experiences. In this way, veterans become Local Food Heroes in their own neighborhoods, using their skills to strengthen food security while continuing their own healing journey.

Current Initiatives
We’re expanding our impact by transforming resident courtyards into edible medicinal gardens, developing a market garden demonstration site, exploring additional agricultural opportunities, building our specialty crop program, and creating stronger connections with local food pantries.

Through our outreach efforts, our “Local Food Heroes” work to rebuild resilient communities.