Healthy Roots Community Nutrition

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Executive Summary

Healthy Roots Community Nutrition is a nonprofit in Virginia that teaches children and families how food grows, how to cook simple meals and how to make healthy choices on a small budget. We run garden programs at schools and community sites, hands-on cooking lessons and family workshops in neighborhoods where fresh food is hard to find.

Many children eat few fruits and vegetables, and many families have limited access to fresh food and little time to cook. Children who grow and cook food are more likely to try it, and families who learn simple skills can stretch a food budget. With this grant we will pay a nutrition educator and the supplies for gardens and cooking lessons. We teach food skills and healthy habits. We do not give medical or weight advice and we do not promise any health result.

What we are asking for. Our program has a Year 1 budget of about $186,000. We are asking for $55,000 from a regional health equity fund to a nutrition educator salary and garden and cooking supplies. The rest of the budget comes from other grants, sponsors and donors that are listed in the funding section. Every dollar amount in this plan is an estimate and none of it is a promise of any result for the people we serve.

Company Description

Healthy Roots Community Nutrition is a nonprofit organization recognized under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, governed by a volunteer board that meets monthly. The board approves the budget, reviews financial statements and oversees the executive director. A new organization without its own determination letter can use a fiscal sponsor, explained in the funding section.

What we believe. Every child deserves to know where food comes from and how to cook a good meal. We teach with respect for every family's culture, budget and choices, and we keep children safe.

What we do:
- School and community gardens. Raised beds where children plant, tend and harvest vegetables with a garden coordinator.
- Cooking lessons. Hands-on lessons where children and families prepare simple, low-cost recipes.
- Family workshops. Evening sessions on shopping, meal planning and food budgeting.
- Produce sharing. Harvests are used in lessons and shared with families.

Who leads the work. A nutrition educator with training in food and nutrition leads lessons and supervises volunteers. We do not allow volunteers to lead lessons alone with children.

What we do not do. We do not give medical, weight loss or diet advice, and we do not diagnose or treat any condition. We refer families who ask health questions to a doctor or a registered dietitian.

Who we serve. Children aged 5 to 14 and their families in schools and neighborhoods with limited access to fresh food.

Our board has at least five members, including at least one person who has used our services or lives in the community we serve, and only a minority of board members may be related to each other or paid by the organization.

We keep a written conflict of interest policy, a whistleblower policy and a record retention policy, and the board reviews them every year.

Problem & Opportunity

Many children and families have difficulty eating well.

1. Limited access to fresh food. Some neighborhoods have few grocery stores, and fresh produce can be costly.
2. Little exposure to cooking. Many children have never prepared a meal.
3. Time and budget limits. Busy families rely on quick, processed foods.
4. Food waste and confusion. Families may not know how to use fresh produce or leftovers.
5. Few green spaces. Many children have little chance to grow anything.

Why it matters now. Children's eating habits form early, and food costs are a stress for many families. Schools and communities are looking for hands-on ways to teach healthy habits.

How we know the need is real. We reviewed the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals in our schools, mapped nearby grocery stores, surveyed 100 families and talked to teachers. Teachers told us they want more hands-on lessons and families asked for cooking skills and budgeting help. The numbers are in the appendix.

We update these facts every year using public data, partner reports and what the people we serve tell us, and we change the program when the facts change. If a need turns out to be smaller than we thought, we will say so and put the money where it is needed most.

Products & Services

What the funded project will do. With this grant we will fund a nutrition educator, a part-time garden coordinator and the supplies for gardens and cooking lessons for a full year.

How children and families take part:
1. School sign-up. A school or community site agrees to host a garden and a lesson series.
2. Garden set-up. We build raised beds and train teachers and volunteers.
3. Lessons. Each group meets weekly for about 8 to 10 weeks, planting, tending, harvesting and cooking.
4. Family events. Families join workshops and take home recipes and produce.
5. Review and follow-up. We check in with teachers and families and plan the next season.

What the grant pays for. The request covers the nutrition educator's salary and the garden and cooking lesson supplies.

What we do not promise. We do not promise that any child will eat more vegetables or change weight. We track simple measures such as how many vegetables children try and what families tell us, and we report honestly.

Safety. We check for allergies before every food activity, follow food safety rules, supervise tools and knives, teach hand washing, and ask for a parent's consent. We call 911 in an emergency. Children are never alone with a single unscreened adult.

We start small, check what works and grow only when we can do the work well. Every few months we review the numbers and the stories from the people we serve and change the plan where it is not working.

We write plain-language handouts for every step so people know what to expect, what it costs and who to call with questions, and we ask each person at the end whether the help was useful and what we could do better.

Market Analysis

Who benefits from this project are children aged 5 to 14 and their families in our service area.

Who we serve. Students at partner schools and children at community sites, most of whom live in neighborhoods with limited access to fresh food and many of whom qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

How many people we plan to serve. In Year 1 we plan to work with about 400 children in 6 gardens and about 150 families in workshops. By Year 5 we plan to work with about 900 children a year. We chose these numbers from the capacity of one educator at first and two by the third year, and from the number of garden sites we can maintain.

Where we serve. Schools and community sites in our city and nearby neighborhoods, chosen for need and for a site that can keep a garden going.

Who else benefits. Teachers who gain hands-on lessons, families who receive fresh produce and recipes, and neighborhoods with more green space.

How we will be careful. We do not collect more information than we need, we follow school photo rules and we do not share a child's information without a parent's permission.

We choose how many people to serve from the number of staff, hours and rooms we really have, not from the size of the need. If we reach fewer people than planned, we will report it and explain why.

Competitive Landscape

Other choices families and schools have in our area.

1. School cafeterias and health classes. Provide meals and basic lessons but little hands-on learning.
2. Cooperative extension programs. Offer nutrition education but have limited capacity.
3. Food banks and pantries. Provide food but usually not skills.
4. Community gardens. Offer growing space but are not designed for children's lessons.
5. Other nonprofits with youth programs.

What makes us different. We bring gardening, cooking and family workshops together, we work with schools and in neighborhoods, and we pay attention to budget and culture. We aim to work with other groups, not replace them.

How we avoid duplication. We meet with extension, food banks and school wellness teams each season to share schedules and coordinate sites.

We keep a written list of every other organization that does similar work in our area and review it each year. If another group can serve a person better, we refer the person and say so plainly. Funders can expect us to tell the truth about overlap, to share what we learn and to work as part of a larger network of help.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How we will reach the children and families we serve once the project is funded.

School partners. Principals, teachers and wellness coordinators will host garden sites and lessons, and we will give each school a short guide and a direct number for the educator.

Community partners. Libraries, churches, recreation centers and housing communities will host family workshops and host garden beds.

Families and word of mouth. Children bring home recipes and produce, and families tell neighbors. With permission, we share stories and photos.

Digital outreach. A simple website and social media will share the schedule, recipes and sign-ups. We will not post identifiable photos of children without written permission.

Access. We provide materials in English and Spanish where needed, offer evening workshops and provide recipes that use ingredients available in nearby stores.

Measuring outreach. We will track how each school and family heard about us and adjust our outreach where it is not working.

Marketing budget. Outreach and printing are part of the program budget and we rely on partner channels.

Most people hear about services from someone they already trust, so we spend more time with partners and neighbors than on advertising. We write our materials in plain language, test them with a few people from the community and fix anything that confuses them.

Operations Plan

How the project will be carried out, in plain terms.

Timeline for Year 1. Months 1 and 2: hire the educator and coordinator, sign school agreements, build the first beds and train volunteers. Months 3 to 12: run lessons through the growing seasons and hold family workshops.

Space. Gardens are built at schools and community sites with sun and water access, and lessons run in classrooms, kitchens or outdoors.

Partners. Schools, libraries, recreation centers and food banks. Each has a written agreement describing responsibilities, safety and communication.

Safety and privacy rules. Two adults are present at every lesson with children. Staff and volunteers pass background checks. We check for allergies, keep food prepared and stored safely, teach hand washing and supervise knives and stoves. We use soil and compost that are safe for edible gardens and wash produce. We follow school rules on photos and information. We call 911 in an emergency.

Records and reporting. We track children served, lessons held, harvest and family participation, and report to funders each quarter.

Training. Staff and volunteers receive training in child safety, food safety and gardening.

We write down every step of the project in a short manual so that any trained staff member can carry it out the same way. We hold a short team meeting every week to review problems, safety concerns and numbers, and we ask the people we serve for feedback at least twice a year.

Management & Organization

The executive director leads the organization and manages the budget and partnerships. The nutrition educator leads lessons and supervises volunteers, and the garden coordinator builds and maintains the gardens.

The team. Pay figures include payroll taxes and workers' compensation insurance. The numbers in parentheses are how many people we plan to have in Years 1 through 5.
- Executive Director: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (Years 1 to 5), about $56,000 a year each.
- Nutrition Educator: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2 (Years 1 to 5), about $46,000 a year each.
- Garden Coordinator (part-time): 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (Years 1 to 5), about $22,000 a year each.

Governance and money controls. A volunteer board of directors oversees the budget and the executive director. Two people review every payment, the board reviews financial statements every month, an outside accountant prepares the yearly tax return and audit-ready records, and every grant is tracked in its own budget line. We screen staff and volunteers who work with the people we serve, train everyone on privacy and safety and keep written policies on conflicts of interest and complaints.

Staff and advisors. The educator has training in food and nutrition or education and the executive director has experience running community programs. An advisory group of a teacher, a parent, a dietitian and a gardener meets quarterly. We post a clear complaint process for families.

Feedback and complaints. Anyone we serve can give feedback or a complaint by phone, in writing or in person, and can ask to speak with the board chair. We reply within five working days, keep a log of every complaint and report the themes to the board each quarter. No one loses services for speaking up.

Milestones Narrative

Goals for each of the first five years and how we will measure results. These are goals, not promises.
- Before the grant starts (2 to 3 months before the grant starts): hire the educator and coordinator, sign school agreements, build the first garden beds, purchase supplies and train volunteers
- Year 1: work with about 400 children in 6 gardens and about 150 families in workshops. The budget is $186,000.
- Year 2: add three gardens and a youth leadership group. The budget is $189,000.
- Year 3: hire a second educator and add family cooking nights. The budget is $239,000.
- Year 4: grow school partners and produce sharing. The budget is $242,000.
- Year 5: work with about 900 children a year and publish a plain results report. The budget is $245,000.

How we will measure results: children and families served, lessons held, vegetables tried as reported by children and teachers, harvest shared, family workshop attendance and teacher and parent satisfaction. We report results to funders in the same plain numbers we use here, and we say honestly when a goal was missed and what we changed.

We report to funders every quarter and send a short plain-language summary to our board each month. At the end of each year we review all of the goals, publish a short results report and update the plan for the next year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $55,000 from a regional health equity fund for a nutrition educator salary and garden and cooking supplies, for January through December 2027.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Nutrition Educator salary, $46,000.
- Supplies: Garden and cooking lesson supplies, $9,000 (other funds add $2,000).

Other money in the program. This request is about 37% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $186,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $6,700 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: grant revenue $150,000; individual donations $22,000; corporate and grocery partner sponsors $14,000. Year 1 costs: executive director $56,000; nutrition educator $46,000; garden coordinator (part-time) $22,000; garden and food supplies about $22,000; cooking lesson and curriculum supplies about $9,000; transportation for field trips and events about $6,000; outreach and printing about $5,000; administration and insurance about $12,000.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $15,300 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $3,600 for raised garden beds, tools, a shed and irrigation for the first sites, $2,900 for portable cooking stations, knives and a food-safe storage cart, $3,200 for opening seeds, soil, compost and curriculum kits, $1,500 for food safety certification and background checks, $2,200 for policy review and legal setup, and $1,900 for banners, brochures and a simple website.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($15,300), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $44,500, which is about 3 months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $60,000. We start with $12,000 of our own savings and $49,500 in startup support from a local foundation and our board, $61,500 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $186,000 in Year 1 to about $245,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $150,000, $146,000, $189,000, $185,000, $181,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows as sponsors and donors join. The program plans a small surplus each year, about $6,700, $6,900, $7,900, $7,700 and $7,500 in Years 1 to 5, which we put into savings.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $55,600, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $7,440 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

After the grant. Individual donors and grocery and community sponsors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share. Schools may share costs, and volunteers and families help maintain gardens.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- A garden may fail. We choose sites with water, plan for pests and weather and keep backup beds.
- A child may have a food allergy. We check forms and plan every lesson with allergies in mind.
- A grant may end. We grow donors and sponsors each year and keep savings.
- Volunteers may be hard to find. We recruit early and train backups.
- A school may change leadership. We keep written agreements and several contacts.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller with one site or one staff member and track results carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this proposal:

- Your IRS determination letter showing 501(c)(3) status, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your board list and board minutes approving the application.
- Your most recent budget and financial statements.
- A list of other funders and what each has given or been asked to give.
- Your school and site agreements and a garden plan.
- Your allergy, food safety and photo policies.
- Your volunteer screening policy.
- Letters of support from teachers and families.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $150,000 in Year 1, growing to $181,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donations: $22,000 in Year 1, growing to $38,000 in Year 5.
- Corporate and Grocery Partner Sponsors: $14,000 in Year 1, growing to $26,000 in Year 5.
- Staff pay is shown in the management section and includes payroll taxes and workers' compensation.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: garden and food supplies $22,000, cooking lesson and curriculum supplies $9,000, transportation for field trips and events $6,000, outreach and printing $5,000, and administration and insurance $12,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year as the program grows.
- Grant and partner payments arrive after we bill, so about $7,440 (4% of Year 1 income) is owed to us at the end of Year 1.
- The program does not pay income tax. Any surplus stays in the program.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your organization's real numbers.

Plain words used in this proposal:
- Grant: money given for a specific purpose that does not have to be paid back, as long as it is spent as promised.
- Request: the part of the budget we are asking this funder to pay for.
- Surplus: money left over after a year's costs. A small surplus is healthy because it builds savings for slow months.
- Startup costs: one-time costs, such as equipment, paid once before the program runs at full speed.
- Working capital: cash kept in the bank to pay bills while waiting for grant payments.
- In-kind: goods or services given instead of money, such as donated space.
- Fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for a new group and passes the money to its program, usually for a fee.
- 501(c)(3): the tax status that lets a nonprofit receive tax-deductible gifts and many grants.

How to read the numbers. Every income and cost figure is a plan, not a result. Income rises as sponsors and donors join, costs rise a little each year, and each year's budget is planned to balance with a small surplus. Startup costs are shown separately because they are paid once. If a real number turns out different, we will update the plan and tell our funders why.

Startup Costs