First Impressions of South Carolina is dedicated to making a positive impact on our community.  We believe in the power of community and work tirelessly to provide services and initiatives that will make a positive difference! One of the areas in which First Impressions have prioritized is the promotion of health eating and providing access to fresh food choices.

We were so excited to be able to expand our mission with the launch of our new greenhouse, with the goal of providing fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables to individuals and families who have been traditionally underserved.  It was greatly appreciated that we were able to acquire the $10,000 funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through cooperative efforts with Community Resources Connection (CRC).  Being able to provide this service supports our efforts to have a lasting positive impact in our community.  

Several community garden meetings were held in the beginning stages of the process.  

First Impressions were able to have a fantastic volunteer base with buncombe Methodist Church/The Sisk Foundation and Immanuel Hammer’s building all the raised garden beds. There were nearly 40 volunteers who assisted with various garden activities throughout the garden season. 

For the week of July 8-12th we were able to harvest from our community garden fresh produce and distribute it alongside our food share truck pick up.  

The fresh produce was bagged and distributed by staff and volunteers.  Approximately, 90% of food distribution participants in FoodShare are low income.  

Some of the produces were harvested from the garden this year were carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, string beans and strawberries.  In this first year, we were able to harvest over 200 + lbs. of fresh fruit, vegetables s and herbs.  Up to 250 low-income individuals and families were recipients from the garden this year. 

 Challenges:

The major challenges were our being able to get the large hoop tunnel built, having to relocate and purchase a second larger shed and getting the community gardens raised beds built around inclement weather and rescheduling of volunteers.  

We were excited to see all the vegetables planted and the enthusiasm of those receiving fresh healthy produce.  We are looking forward to continuing to provide this service to the Greenville community