Food Gardens Foundation also known as FGF was established in 1976 under the name of Food Gardens Unlimited, as a result of the June 16 riots in Soweto, Gauteng.  At that time there were no food supplies going to Soweto as van were overturned at every opportunity available.  Two ladies Pauline Raphaely (a geologist) and Joyce Niland (a farmer's wife) saw a need and started the organisation out of R100 to introduce Food Gardens in Soweto.  These gardens were letter called Peace Gardens and as a result of this the organisation won several awards. 

In 1977 the organisation was formerly registerd as a socio-economic project to teach people to help themselves by growing essential food according to sustainable organic principles.

Our Vision is the empowerment of people to overcome malnutrition, famine, hunger and the effects of desease.

Food Gardens Foundation achieves community development and social upliftment by teaching people small-scale low-cost organic Food Gardening which in turn

• improves their health and quality of life
• helps them to escape from the grip of poverty and helplessness by achieving a High Level of Household Food Security
• self-actualisation
• self-employment

Organic trenchbed gardening, according to our specific method (called 'Food Gardening'), makes efficient use of normal domestic and other organic waste to revitalise the soil and feed the vegetables.

This method is cheap:

It costs between R45.00 to R145.00 per year for a family garden of four vegetable beds of 2m x 1m; and this would exclude the cost of a spade. Plastic shopping bags and bottles, tin cans, orange bags, cardboard cartons and newspaper all have their place in Food Gardening. It is easy to understand and not arduous to carry out; the trenchbeds last approximately five years before needing to be re-dug.

It is environmentally friendly and safe: no pesticides or agro-chemicals are used. It is appropriate to the limited resources available: limited space, scarce water, and little money. Food Gardening leads to the poor achieving an ongoing means of helping themselves by producing nutritious, freshly picked, organically grown vegetables. Food Gardening restores fertility to poor and arid land and can be expanded into small-scale or urban agriculture, Permaculture, or BioDynamic farming.

Our motto is: Maximum nutrition in minimum space with limited water and resources

The philosophy of Food Gardening

The FGF method of organic gardening not only revitalises the soil but also deals with constructive recycling, energy and water saving and conservation.
Food Gardening employs sustainable soil management and drought-orientated cultivation techniques

Is a fully integrated and holistic approach to food production and human health.

Services offered by the Food Gardens Foundation

• Training
  • Half-Day Demonstrations, 1-Day Workshops and 2-Day Training Courses with Follow-up visits (the follow-up visits are continuous training)
  • Our core training activities, workshops and demonstrations are aimed at the education and training of communities  groups, youth groups, church groups, small scale farmers, schools and individuals
• Additional Service
  • A fieldworkers' and facilitators' support network
  • Motivational and introductory lectures
  • Model gardens for visits and demonstrations
  • A yearly membership giving access to support and information services, a quarterly Newsletter, information pamphlets, and a low-cost seed distribution network
  • Information regarding nutrition, food preparation and menu planning
  • Small-scale or urban agricultural entrepreneurial support
• Food Gardens Foundation serves -

1. Individuals
   • such as the unemployed, the disabled, the aged, the marginalized, and the poor, as well as all those who wish to upgrade their quality of life
   • Community groups in rural and urban areas - women's organisations, welfare groups, youth group, and churches, schools, technikons, universities, training centres, hospitals and clinics
2. Government departments
   • Education, Health & Welfare, Agriculture, Environment, Labour, Public Enterprise, and local metropolitan councils, other NGOs and CBOs
3. Companies
   • Workers who are retiring or might be retrenched, or who would like to add to their skills and pass these on to others at their homes and within their communities

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• To improve the physical, mental and social well-being of the communities in which we work.
• To help communities to develop sustainable Food Gardening projects by ensuring that they have sufficient knowledge, experience and support.
• To create in the individuals an awareness of their potential.
• To create an awareness of environmental issues and demonstrate the options for conservation.

The Food Gardens Foundation method of Food Gardening aspiring to organic principles, not only revitalises the soil but also deals with constructive recycling, energy and water saving and conservation.

Food Gardening employs sustainable soil management and drought-orientated cultivation techniques.

Is a fully integrated and holistic approach to food production and human health.

• FGF (Food Gardens Foundation) people have the passion and commitment to help satisfy the pressing food security needs facing the poor.
• FGF has the reputation in the market place that allows instant entree with credibility into any community.
• FGF has a partnership relationship with its donors because of its past performance.
• FGF has the expertise gained over 30 years in the Field, using sound agricultural principles, to provide appropriate assistance for those wishing to become Food Gardeners.
• FGF has a team of fieldwork support staff who are at the disposal of beneficiaries to enchance their expertise in Food Gardening.

Food Gardens Foundation has:

• developed a system, which is dynamic to the changing needs and status of the community. The basic system, is based on sound agricultural principles and has been proved over the 34 years that it has been tried and tested
• has training manuals and material to support the training of individuals and communities in Food Gardening Skills
• has a long history of success in the stimulation of Food Gardening
• has trained staff that can identify the people to be trained, carry out the training and then follow up and assist the people trained
• has the infrastructure and contacts to source and supply seed and other support for Food Gardeners