We're Transforming Food Deserts to Beauty!
Beauty's Community Garden's programs, events, and educational materials focus on breaking the cycle of food insecurity, poor nutrition, and the resulting health outcomes people within communities with limited access to fresh produce experience. These communities are called food deserts. Our garden is located in one of forty plus food deserts in Houston. We are committed to bringing awareness and impacting the lives of the residents in these communities.
24 Million
People in the U.S. reside in food desert communities according to the USDA
500,000
Reside in one of 40+ food deserts in
Houston, Texas alone.
Health Impact
Poor diet and access to processed foods result in poor health.
Learning about what we eat and where it comes from has a transformative influence on how we grow, feel, and act.
More than giving food that feeds for a day, we teach you how to become your own food source, and the advantages of bringing plant-based foods into your diet, gaining a global, cultural, and scientific appreciation for food, and setting you on a lifetime path of personal, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
An annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable.
Crop Description
They generally have a height and spread of 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 in). The leaves are colorful, mainly in the green and red color spectrums, with some variegated varieties. There are also a few varieties with yellow, gold or blue-teal leaves.
Culinary Use
Most lettuce is used in salads, either alone or with other greens, vegetables, meats and cheeses. Romaine lettuce is often used for Caesar salads. Lettuce leaves can also be found in soups, sandwiches and wraps, while the stems are eaten both raw and cooked.
Nutrition
Raw iceberg lettuce is 96% water, 3% carbohydrates. 100 grams (3.5 oz), iceberg lettuce supplies 14 calories and is a rich source of vitamin K (20% DV). Vitamin A and beta-carotene are found in dark green leaves.
Crop Cultivation
Lettuce thrives in well-drained, fertile soil with a pH of 6.0-6.8. It needs consistent moisture, best achieved through drip irrigation. This leafy green prefers cooler temperatures (60-70°F) and full sun to partial shade. Harvesting can be done within 30-70 days, either by cutting individual leaves or uprooting the entire plant.
Body Benefits
It provides fiber for digestion, antioxidants for immune health, and hydration due to its high-water content. This makes it great for heart health, weight management, and overall wellness.
Origin & History
Lettuce originated in ancient Egypt around 2680 B.C. Initially grown for its seeds and oil, it evolved into a leafy green valued for its taste and nutrition. Greeks and Romans embraced it for their diets and medicine.
“I started volunteering at Beauty’s Garden in 2020 to raise vegetables and work in a garden like I love to do. It’s hard to make new friends in middle age, and to make it worse I came to Houston at the beginning of the pandemic so I was so isolated, living and working alone. There was no where to go! Nothing was open where I could talk to other people! The Garden turned out to be the only place I could bring my mask and interact safely, outdoors, with diverse but like-minded people. We literally have people from age 8 to 80 coming to help every week. During a time of loneliness and crushing ennui across the country, we’re growing organic food together for the needy, learning about horticulture, and sharing at our potlucks. I hardly know anyone in Houston but my Beauty’s Garden friends are looking forward to seeing me every week.”
Maggie Wineland
New Houstonite
Knowledge is Power!
Root-level transformation happens through discovery, empowerment, and support focused on a path to a healthy and dignified life.
PROGRAMS: Our year-round urban farming, cooking, and youth programs form the cornerstone of our community impact. Our Food Desert to Beauty programming extends our outreach to over 40 food desert communities, significantly enhancing engagement and impact. These initiatives represent just a glimpse of our efforts.
For more details, please click the link below. Learn more
PUBLICATION: The Seed Newsletter has replaced the Green Seedling Magazine. Our first publication went out for the 2024 Holiday Season in December. Our quarterly newsletter is created with our community in mind.
Join the mailing list, click the link below. Sign up for the SEED
SUPPORT: As a non-profit, we rely on your support to develop and provide programs, events, and food to the community. In an effort to diversify and make our fundraising initiatives more inclusive, we have decided to retire our annual MLK PEACE through PIE event. In 2025, we introduced our Beauty's Table Series, which allows a select few to enjoy a fine dining experience surrounded by the beauty of our urban garden. For more information on this event, please click here.
We also plan to roll out an international food tasting event for Octoberfest—more details to come.
