Empowering young women to create healthy, sustainable resources in their communities. Because healthy food shouldn’t be a privilege.
ABOUT
Chicas Verdes is a sustainability initiative that serves under-resourced communities. Through their involvement in Chicas Verdes, students learn about issues in their communities and combat these issues sustainably.
Promoting female-empowerment and activism, Chicas Verdes students grow their own food, develop soaps and creams, recycle clothing, and dye their own merchandise with plants. They also host bi-monthly farmers markets where they distribute their produce and products and interact with community members to share their mission.
Since its start in 2017, Chicas Verdes has hosted over 50 events to educate community members about healthy, sustainable living, and distributed over 20,000 pounds of donated produce. Chicas Verdes educates students about inequity in food systems and teaches them to grow their own food with the larger goal of creating new, sustainable, community-based food systems.
Chicas Verdes school-sites receive curriculum about gardening, sustainable living, product development, and entrepreneurship, along with teacher training and access to a supportive online community. To supplement curriculum, Chicas Verdes teams can also receive seedlings, dirt, tools, and consultations to start their own school gardens. Graduated members can bring Chicas Verdes to their college campuses and mentor girls currently in the program.
Bari and Chicas Verdes work together to increase public knowledge of healthy living and access to sustainable resources. Chicas Verdes' core mission is “to reduce negative impacts that food deserts create in our community by providing and empowering students and families with healthier food options, knowledge, and guidance to make long-lasting healthy choices."
The nature of this mission exposes Chicas Verdes members to the wider world, encouraging them to identify and hone untapped skills. Self-reliance is the club’s cornerstone — members are expected to seek a deeper understanding of the social and historical contexts of their lives.
With new insight into the world and their place in it, students become activists, assuming leadership roles and developing healthier lifestyles and a sustainable food system for the wider community.
Testimonials
“Everyone deserves access to a healthy lifestyle regardless of where they live or their financial situation.”
“As a Chica Verde, I learn about natural ways to get things done without hurting our already damaged earth.”
“Chicas Verdes makes me feel like I’m wanted somewhere. I’m not alone and I’m enough for being who I am.”
“When I put my hands in the dirt, the first thing that comes to mind is how I can change my life to be, just, happier. ”