About Us

Mission

To close the gap on food inequities and achieve a community culture of health and wellbeing.

Vision

A healthy, thriving community empowered and self-reliant with the knowledge to produce their own food source and make healthy choices.

Our Story

Beauty’s Community Garden is located in Independence Heights–the first African American municipality in Texas and one of 40 food deserts in Houston.

Purchased property in 1926 by her grandparents, Ernest and Beauty Leno, Yvette Leno later inherited the land. In 1991, a devastating fire destroyed the family’s homestead. In 2012, Yvette repurposed the land into a community garden she named after her grandmother, “Beauty.”

Our Garden Space

Today, Beauty’s Community Garden is growing into the vision Yvette imagined, a place for community members to come together to access and learn about healthy whole foods they can plant. The garden is a natural place to plant roots and connect the benefits of choosing healthy foods by learning about nutrition and its impact on a person’s physical and mental well-being.

Beauty's Community Garden runs over 6,000 square feet with a 20 ft container. The garden features community-connected spaces where 10-15 volunteers support the garden weekly, and a variety of fresh produce and herbs are grown and sustained.

Impact Taking Root

We provide community service hours and hands-on gardening clinics with our community partners, businesses, schools, and community groups within the garden and throughout the larger Houston community.

Participanted in BCG Programs & Events

Number of Volunteers who have volunteered at least once

Total Volunteer Hours (updated quarterly)

Lbs of fresh fruit & veggies donated

From the Beginning

We've distributed more than 3,500 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Produce Donation

We bring access to healthy plant-based foods to our seniors, and provide for our garden visitors as the harvest allows.

Healthy Cooking Demos

We’ve conducted over 80 hands-on gardening classes, healthy cooking demos and nutrition classes.

Farmers Market

We bring fresh veggies, fruit and herbs from the garden to the Acres Homes Farmer's Market.

Our Core Values

Community Sustainability

Promote the preservation of the character, history, and community culture. Support values that uplift and promote a community that thrives.

Compassion

We value caring, respecting, and responding to the individual needs of our community through our gardening and support programs.

Commitment

We're rooting for you, ensuring you achieve the best today and tomorrow. We teach and serve you with fresh produce using sustainable food production methods.

Inclusion

We foster a welcoming atmosphere for cultural bridge building. We set our table with an eye on finding connections through exploring and celebrating the many food choices in our cultures.

Integrity

We bring transparency regarding our food growing methods to our responsibility of stewardship with our supporters, donors, and sponsors and to our service to community members.

Sam Nuckols

Founding Co-Garden Manager

"As the previous Beauty's Community Garden Co-Manager, I value the time I spent at the garden, and all of the wonderful people I've met. It's been a great experience for me. Thank you for making it all possible. The social part for me was more important than growing vegetables. I feel that Beauty's Community Garden's ability to provide social and educational opportunities is far better than any other community garden I've been exposed to. No other garden readily accepts volunteers like you do, and organizes events and gets organizations and people to participate."

Meet the Team

Everything Beauty's Community Garden has been able to provide and acomplish has been through the dedication of our volunteers. Beauty's Community Garden is currently 100% volunteer led. We are working to change that, so we can provide a stronger sustainable organization. Please consider that as you review the different program and event participation opportunities.

Yvette Leno

Founder & Director

I am driven by love of my community. I am blessed and privileged to use the ground from my heritage to sow seeds that provide access to healthy fresh food, a basic human right.

Ashley Hadley

Garden Manager & Instructor

As a Horticulturist, I enjoy gardening with the volunteers and the surrounding community- to grow a space that is inviting, healthy, and happy.

Anna Sams

Program Manager

I love creating programs with businesses and professionals that inspire participants to grow their own food, while expanding their cultural norms around food, and what it means to cook healthy.

Reid Turner

Outreach & Logistics

As a graduate in Agriculture Business Technology, I participate in the logistics around our farmer's market participation and develop opportunities for the Garden.

Tera Coffee

Strategic Planning

I love connecting opportunities with programs. I specialize in organizational development, grant writing, and funding opportunities that connect to the garden's strategic direction.

Tangie Cooper

Organization CPA

As owner of Tangie R. Cooper CPA, Inc, I use my skill to give back to the Beauty's Community Garden Organization because it represents a worthy cause that is making a difference.

Our Partners

Coming SOON! A full list of Partners when clicking under each Partner type